Graduate Studies has named Daniel Castaneda, Ph.D. candidate in History, the Graduate Student Advisor to the Dean of Graduate Studies and to the Chancellor (GSADC) for the 2023-2024 academic year.

As the GSADC, Castaneda will serve as the primary student representative for graduate students at UC Davis, serving as a voice for graduate student concerns, needs and perspectives. Over the course of a year, he will work closely with the Chancellor, the Dean of Graduate Studies, Graduate Council and other campus leaders.

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Getting to Know Daniel Castaneda

 

Tell us a little about yourself and why you decided to pursue your area of study.

My name is Daniel Castaneda and I am a first-generation graduate student of color in the History Department here at UC Davis. I am originally from Fullerton and went to UC Riverside for my undergrad (Go Highlanders!). I always say that my love for history started early, with Ostrich Eggs for Breakfast: a History of Fullerton for Boys and Girls, a local history book for third-grade students. Learning about local history at a young age set off my desire to study history and to begin making sense of how the past affects our current moment. More recently, I have been influenced by a range of teachers and professors who answered a plethora of my questions over the years and who actively encouraged me to keep pursuing my passion for US history. At UCR, I double-majored in History and Public Policy and debated between pursuing opportunities at the Capitol in Sacramento or working toward a PhD. In the end, I landed in the middle: I study political history and try to share my knowledge of politics in California to help people better understand our current moment and, ideally, make our state more inclusive for all.

Tell us about your experience as an Envision UC Davis participant. 

I was a part of the inaugural group of Envision students who visited campus in 2018. Before visiting, all I knew about Davis was that there were a lot of cows! Envision allowed me and other prospective graduate students to visit campus and see how it might feel to attend UC Davis. I realized through my visit that there were cows, but not nearly as many as I expected! Though, in seriousness, Envision was critical to my choice to attend UC Davis because I was able to meet my doctoral advisor, get a sense of campus life, and connect with several people in Grad Studies (shout out to the former and current Envision organizers!). It was such an exciting opportunity to meet prospective students who looked like me and had similar experiences before choosing to pursue higher education. Every year, I have been sure to participate in Envision to encourage other students to apply and, hopefully, join us as Aggies! In short, UC Davis’s commitment to promoting diversity in Graduate Studies had an impact on me and I hope to help others have a similar experience.

Why did you choose UC Davis for your graduate studies? 

I chose UC Davis to pursue my PhD because I really liked the sense of community both on- and off-campus. When I first visited campus with the Envision program, I got a sense that my department, like others here, was collegial and supportive, rather than internally competitive. It felt like graduate students liked the program and their peers/colleagues, which really mattered to me. I also chose Davis because it was the best fit in terms of advisors – I have been very lucky that both of my primary advisors are committed to helping me succeed and connecting me with scholars both on campus and at other universities. Off-campus, I liked the college-town feel of Davis. I especially liked the idea of being able to bike and walk almost everywhere you would want to go in the area. During my first month in Davis, I would go for long bike rides and follow the trails wherever they would take me. I am not always able to do that these days, but when I can bike on the greenbelt or out on the county roads I am reminded of one of the reasons I chose to be an Aggie.

What are your research interests?

My research is in United States history, primarily politics from the 20th century to the present. My research focuses on Democratic Party politics between the 1970s and 1990s in California. I seek to understand how party leaders and activists shifted the party's political priorities in response to the challenge of governing in the 1970s. I am particularly interested in how Latina/o/x politicians sought to increase political representation for their community and how this shaped (and continues to shape) California politics today. Recently, I completed a series of projects focused on the life and legacy of Cruz Reynoso, the first Latino Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court and a former UC Davis Law Professor. These projects included an exhibit at Shields Library supported by several campus partners and a K-12 curriculum project funded by the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiative and the California History-Social Science Project. I firmly believe that more people should know about Justice Reynoso and his legacy, both at UC Davis and beyond. My dissertation, “A Different Shade of Blue: Reshaping the Democratic Party, 1972-1996” will study understudied Latinx figures like Reynoso, which I hope will allow more people to see themselves in our country’s political history.

What motivated you to become the GSADC?

I originally decided to apply to be the GSADC because I saw it as an opportunity to support students across the university. Before this, I was the Event Coordinator for the History Graduate Student Association (HGSA) and a program representative to the Graduate Student Association (GSA). Through these roles, I sought to create space for other students to voice their needs and concerns, as well as learn about several resources on campus to solve (or begin to solve) the challenges they faced. These experiences allowed me to work across disciplines and meet other students, faculty, and staff who are doing important work to make their respective programs more responsive and inclusive.

Are there ways for other graduate students to get involved and support your work and goals? 

Definitely. I see my new role as an opportunity to facilitate partnerships and to amplify the work that others are already doing across campus. For instance, I am eager to lead the Chancellor’s Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board (CGPSA) and work with other student leaders who want to improve the graduate and professional student experience on campus. I want to serve as a leader who empowers others to achieving some of their own goals this year.

What do you hope to accomplish in this role? Are there any major projects you hope to launch?

As GSADC, I want to support students and serve as an advocate for greater graduate student representation across campus. My project, “Rising Together: Building Capacity for a More Inclusive Graduate Experience,” seeks to extend the logic of a Minority Serving Institution to encompass the unique challenges graduate students face in continuing their higher education. Graduate students like me may have attended a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) or an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) as an undergraduate and had access to identity-focused resources. However, these same students can find themselves with less targeted support as graduate students. As an emerging HSI, I think UC Davis is uniquely positioned to consider how the campus might extend the valuable work of the HSI initiative to graduate students on campus. This might look like convening a small advisory group or establishing peer mentorship. Whatever form it ultimately takes, I am hopeful that in the long term this project can build the foundation for a more concerted effort at building holistic resources for graduate students of color who are currently here, and signal to prospective graduate students that Graduate Studies is intentionally creating space for them.

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More about the GSADC

As a key leadership position, the Graduate Student Advisor to the Dean of Graduate Studies and to the Chancellor (GSADC) is the campus graduate student representative serving as a voice for graduate student concerns, needs and perspectives. In addition to their work with the Chancellor, the Dean of Graduate Studies, Graduate Council and other campus administrators, the GSADC meets with graduate students, the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and other graduate student groups and organizations. This position also provides the opportunity for professional development during which the GSADC may hone their leadership skills while also becoming familiar with university administration, particularly in relation to graduate education. The GSADC also participates on the Chancellor's Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board, which advises the Office of the Chancellor and advocates on the behalf of graduate and professional students.

Learn more about the GSADC and their role by visiting the GSADC webpage.