Kimberly Lau has been appointed to a three-year term as provost of College Nine and John R. Lewis College, two of ten residential colleges at the University of California Santa Cruz. She has served as the colleges’ interim provost since the beginning of this academic year.
Lau is a professor of literature at the University of California Santa Cruz. From 2008-2014, she served as provost of Oakes College, another of the university’s residential colleges. She served as chair of the University of California Santa Cruz Academic Senate and as associate dean of faculty affairs in the university’s division of humanities.
“It’s important for all of us to understand who we want to be in this world, how we can be accountable to each other, and what kinds of change we’re invested in making,” said Lau. “And I love that both colleges work toward that goal by building upon the agency and knowledge that students already have.”
As a scholar, Lau’s work focuses on fairy tales, race, and feminism. She is the author of numerous papers and books including New Age Capitalism: Making Money East of Eden (University of Pennsylvania Press 2000).