Graduate Group & Designated Emphasis Chair Nominations

The appointment and review of Graduate Group Chairs are governed by UCD APM 245 while the appointment and review of Designated Emphases Chairs are governed by GS2015-03 policy. Whether you’re helping to administer a Graduate Group or a Designated Emphasis (DE), you’ll periodically be asked to partner with Graduate Studies on the appointment process for your Chair. This process typically begins during the Winter Quarter before the Summer in which your Chair’s term expires, with an ideal target of appointing the next Chair by May 15. However, you may initiate the process at any time if your Chair is departing their role early, or taking a leave longer than one quarter.

In this guide, you'll learn about the nomination process, what your Nomination Committee needs to do, and the role Graduate Studies plays in facilitating the process. For clarity’s sake, we’ve used the word “you” in this guide. For both Groups and DEs, a Nomination Committee will lead the process, and “you” refers to the Committee member(s) responsible for each action. 

About the Process

Working with Graduate Studies, you’ll send out a call for nominations to your faculty, students, and staff. Each nominee who is willing to serve will be asked to provide a CV and a one-page statement describing their experience and vision for the group. Your faculty, students, and staff will be able to view and provide comments on each nominee. Finally, you’ll provide a letter to Graduate Studies summarizing the process and describing the fitness of each nominee for the position. In the letter, you may also provide a recommendation indicating your preferred candidate and specifying the reasons for that preference. More information on your duties and templates for each stage are included in Steps 1-6 below.

Graduate Studies will review each nominee and conduct a brief compliance check to ensure that they meet the criteria for appointment and are caught up with all required training. The Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Chair of Graduate Council typically interview each candidate, and work with the Vice Provost and Dean to prepare a formal recommendation for appointment.

For Graduate Groups, this recommendation (alongside the documents you provide) will be provided to either the Office of the Provost or the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Human Health Services (VC-HHS), depending on your Group’s Lead Dean. The Provost or VC-HHS will make the formal appointment. 

For Designated Emphases, the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies will confirm the appointment based on the recommendation of the AD-GP & Chair of Graduate Council and the documents you provide. 

Lastly, Graduate Studies staff will ensure that the new Chair has been appropriately entered in our web applications such that they appear on your program page hosted by Graduate Studies, appear on the gradchairs@ucdavis.edu mailing list, etc. The appointed Chair will be invited to the New Chair Orientation held by Graduate Studies in the Fall to ensure they’re getting a direct line to the support and resources our office provides.

  • Step 1: Actively Foster Interest and Encourage Participation in the Process 

  • Actively foster interest and encourage participation in the process by connecting with your Graduate Group/DE faculty and the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) to see who might be interested in the role, and consider who could help you with leading this process. 

    If the current Chair would like to pursue another term as Chair, they can certainly be nominated or self-nominate while the Graduate Group/DE and Nominations Committee also seeks other nominations. 

    As you begin to gauge interest, familiarize yourself with the Chair Nominations process by reviewing Steps 2-6. If you have questions after reviewing this guide, reach out to the Graduate Program Analyst, Ruby Bal (rbal@ucdavis.edu), or attend Office Hours on Thursdays from 11am-12pm throughout winter and spring quarters via Zoom if you’d like to chat about the process. 

  • Step 2: Identify the Nomination Committee and Submit the Committee Roster to Graduate Studies

  • Work with your Graduate Group/DE to identify the Nomination Committee. These individuals will be the folks with whom Graduate Studies will communicate regarding the nomination. 
    • If your Group/DE's Executive Committee is elected, they may serve as the Nomination Committee. 
    • If your Group/DE's Executive Committee is appointed, the Executive Committee must appoint the Nomination Committee, which should include at least three faculty members from the Group/DE. No more than one member of the Nomination Committee can be a member of the Executive Committee. 

    Once your Nomination Committee is formed, send the names and emails of the committee members to the Graduate Program Analyst, Ruby Bal (rbal@ucdavis.edu). 

    If the Nomination Committee is unable to undertake the process, the current Chair should notify the Associate Dean, Duncan Temple Lang (dtemplelang@ucdavis.edu) and Graduate Program Analyst, Ruby Bal (rbal@ucdavis.edu). Graduate Studies will work with the Nomination Committee to assess the situation and determine the best course of action, taking into account the barriers or challenges the Group/DE is facing in finding a Chair.

    Additional Considerations
    • If a student is a member of the Executive Committee, they must be excused from participating in the nomination process. 
    • If a member of the Nomination Committee is nominated to serve as Graduate Group/DE Chair and is willing to do so, the Executive Committee should appoint a faculty member to replace that individual on the Nomination Committee. 
    • If the current Chair is willing to serve an additional term, they must inform the Nomination Committee and excuse themself from participating in all aspects of the nomination process. When the call for nominations is sent out (See Step 3 below), it must include a notice that the current Chair will be considered a nominee. 
    • Typically the Nominations Committee Chair leads the communication with the Graduate Group/DE, but another member or staff affiliate may also take on this role. 

  • Step 3: Send a Call for Nominations and Confirm the Nominees' Willingness to Serve

  • Send a call for nominations using this Nomination Template. This call should be sent to all faculty, students and staff members associated with your Group/DE. You may choose the method that works best for you (e.g. you may prefer email, Qualtrics, etc.), but the key point is ensuring all parties are able to nominate, with faculty members being able to self-nominate if desired. It is typical to allow one week for responses. 

    Confirm that nominees are willing to serve using this Willing Nominee Template for Graduate Groups or this Willing-Nominee Template for Designated Emphases. If a nominee is willing to serve, request that they provide a CV and one-page statement that describes: (1) their experience in graduate education (administrative committee service, membership in graduate groups, service as major professor, graduate teaching) and (2) the issues that they consider important for the incoming Chair to address. 

    All willing nominees should be asked to visit the Learning Management System to confirm they are up-to-date with required training material (e.g. Cyber Security Awareness or Ethics or the UC Ethics and Compliance Briefing for Researchers and UC's FERPA eCourse). 

    Additionally, willing nominees should be provided information related to their appointment, which is appended to the Willing-Nominee templates linked above. 

    At this stage, the names and emails of each willing nominee should be provided to the Graduate Program Analyst, Ruby Bal (rbal@ucdavis.edu). 

    Graduate Studies will provide the names of all your nominees to Academic Affairs for a compliance check. Academic Affairs verifies that the candidates have no outstanding training requirements or current investigations related to academic conduct violations. We do this immediately upon receiving the nominees' names to minimize delays later in the process.

    Do You Have One or No Nominee(s)?

    If you have one or no nominee(s), please let the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs  (dtemplelang@ucdavis.edu) and the Graduate Program Analyst (rbal@ucdavis.edu) know.

    It is ideal to have more than one nominee. This provides the Group/DE with more options and helps avoid delays if the sole nominee is unable to proceed. However, it's okay to proceed with a single nominee as long as the entire Group/DE was consulted on nominations. 

    If no nominees come forward after the full call, Graduate Studies will work with you to determine appropriate next steps. The Group/DE will need leadership under any circumstance, but the term can be adjusted to make the role more appealing. Typically, the next step would be to send a new call for nominees with an altered term (e.g. one year, 7/1/2025 - 6/30/2026). 

  • Step 4: Send a Call for Comments on the Nominee(s) to all Affiliated Faculty, Students and Staff 
  • Share the names of candidates along with their statements and CVs with all affiliated faculty, students and staff with a request for confidential comments on the candidates' suitability as Chair using the Comment Call Template. 

    You may collect comments through whatever method you deem most appropriate (email, Qualtrics, etc.), but it should be made clear to the recipients that (a) they may also send confidential comments directly to the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs (dtemplelang@ucdavis.edu) with a copy to Graduate Program Analyst (rbal@ucdavis.edu) and (b) all individuals involved in handling the nomination will hold comments in confidence. At this stage, too, it's typical to allow one week for responses. 
  • Step 5: Send Graduate Studies a Final Nomination Letter 

  • Send Graduate Studies the statement and CV for each candidate, all confidential comments received and a letter using the Final Nomination Letter Template. This letter should include: 

    • Names of each candidate.
    • Confirmation that they are willing to serve.
    • Confirmation that the solicitation of nominations and comment call included all affiliated faculty, students and staff.
    • An evaluation by the Nomination Committee of the suitability of each candidate.

    The letter can include the comments, or you can attach them separately. The only information Graduate Studies needs is each comment and the affiliation (staff, student or faculty) of the individual who provided it (e.g. "'Professor Davies is very supportive of students, and has been a dedicated mentor.' - Student"). 

  • Step 6: Graduate Studies Conducts Candidate Interviews and Announces the Appointment  

  • For Graduate Groups, once you have submitted the final nomination packet, Graduate Studies will reach out to each candidate to schedule a 30-minute interview with the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and the Chair of Graduate Council. After doing so, a recommendation will be made to the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, who will then make a recommendation to the Provost or Vice Chancellor for Human Health Services (VC-HHS), depending on your Group's Lead Dean. The Provost or VC-HHS will make the formal appointment. 

    Once campus leadership finalizes the appointment, they will notify Graduate Studies. We will announce the successful candidate's appointment to all relevant parties after communicating with the nominees who were not selected for appointment. 

    For Designated Emphases, once you have submitted the final nomination packet, Graduate Studies will reach out to each candidate to schedule a 30-minute interview with the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. After doing so, a recommendation will be made to the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, who will finalize the appointment. 

    Once the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies finalizes the appointment, we will announce the successful candidate's appointment after communicating with nominees who were not selected for appointment. 

Upcoming Chair Nominations

Not sure when your term as Chair is up, or are you a staff administrator hoping to plan ahead? Here's the year in which your Group or DE will be needing a new Chair. Bear in mind that Chair terms generally end on June 30th of the year given below, and the process to nominate a new one should begin during the preceding Winter Quarter. 

  • Graduate Groups
  • Group NameNew Chair Year
    Agricultural And Environmental Chemistry2025
    Animal Behavior2027
    Animal Biology2026
    Applied Mathematics2025
    Atmospheric Science2026
    Biomedical Engineering2026
    Biophysics2027
    Biostatistics2025
    Child Development2027
    Clinical Research2027
    Community Development2025
    Computer Science2025
    Cultural Studies2025
    Ecology2025
    Ecology (Joint Program With San Diego State University)2025
    Education (Ph.D.)2026
    Energy Systems2025
    Environmental Policy And Management2026
    Epidemiology2026
    Food Science2027
    Forensic Science2026
    Geography2027
    Health Informatics2025
    Horticulture And Agronomy2027
    Human Development2025
    Hydrologic Sciences2025
    Immunology2026
    Integrative Genetics And Genomics2025
    Integrative Pathobiology2025
    International Agricultural Development2025
    Molecular, Cellular And Integrative Physiology2026
    Neuroscience2026
    Nursing (Master's Entry Program In Nursing)2027
    Nursing (Doctor of Nursing Practice - Family Nurse Practitioner) 2027
    Nursing (Doctor of Nursing Practice - Nurse Anesthesia) 2027
    Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership (M.S.)2027
    Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership (Ph.D.)2027
    Nutritional Biology2027
    Performance Studies2025
    Pharmacology And Toxicology2025
    Physician Assistant Studies2027
    Plant Biology2027
    Population Biology2026
    Preventive Veterinary Medicine2027
    Public Health (MPH)2026
    Public Health Sciences (Ph.D.)2026
    Soils And Biogeochemistry2026
    Transportation Technology And Policy2027
    Viticulture And Enology2027
  • Designated Emphases
  • Designated Emphasis NameNew Chair Year
    African American And African Studies2026
    Biology Of Vector Borne Diseases2026
    Biophotonics and Bioimaging2027
    Biotechnology2027
    Classics & Classical Reception2025
    Computational Social Science2025
    Critical Theory2027
    Environmental Humanities2026
    Feminist Theory And Research2026
    Host Microbe Interactions2026
    Human Rights2026
    International And Community Nutrition2026
    Native American Studies2027
    Neuroengineering2026
    Reproductive Biology2024
    Science & Technology Studies2026
    Second Language Acquisition2024
    Studies In Performance And Practice2026
    Study Of Religion2027
    Translational Research2026
    Writing, Rhetoric, And Composition Studies2026

Who Appoints Graduate Group Chairs?

It's a common misconception that Graduate Studies appoints Graduate Group Chairs. These appointments are (and can only be) made by the Vice Chancellor of Human Health Sciences (VC-HHS) for Graduate Groups housed within the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Provost for all other Graduate Groups. Under certain circumstances, the two leadership offices work together to appoint Chairs. 

Graduate Group Lead DeanNominee's Home Dept. Lead DeanAppointment Conferred By...
Schools of Medicine or NursingSchools of Medicine or NursingVC-HHS, after consultation with the Provost
Schools of Medicine or NursingOther CollegesVC-HHS, after consultation with the Provost
Other CollegesSchools of Medicine or NursingProvost, after consultation with VC-HHS
Other CollegesOther CollegesProvost

Graduate Studies does, however, appoint the Chairs of Designated Emphases.