Carol T. Christ was named interim provost at the University of California, Berkeley. She will take over for psychology professor Claude Steele who is stepping down from his administrative duties due to the illness of his wife.
Dr. Christ has been serving as director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the university since January 2015. From 2002 to 2013, Dr. Christ was president of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Before leading Smith College, Dr. Christ served on the Berkeley faculty for 30 years, including six years as executive vice chancellor and provost.
Professor Christ is the author of The Finer Optic: The Aesthetic of Particularity in Victorian Poetry (Yale University Press, 1975) and Victorian and Modern Poetics (University of Chicago Press, 1984).
Dr. Christ is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Jersey. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Yale University.