Dear colleagues,
I am writing to share that Jennifer Johnson-Hanks has decided to step down as Executive Dean of the College of Letters & Science at the end of her current five-year term on June 30, 2026.
Dean Johnson-Hanks has been a creative, effective, and thoughtful dean, advancing the mission and vision of the College of Letters & Science and providing exemplary leadership to the Undergraduate Studies division. As an alumna, she understands firsthand the profound power of a Berkeley education and has worked tirelessly to advance the mission of liberal arts and the academic experience of our students. Focusing on student-impacting initiatives has been a hallmark of Dean Johnson-Hanks’s tenure as Executive Dean. Notably, she transformed L&S Undergraduate Advising by increasing staffing and salaries, streamlining the organizational structure, simplifying procedures and modernizing technology. As a result, L&S Advising not only increased total student appointments by 80%, but also re-introduced same-day appointments.
For over 25 years, Dean Johnson-Hanks has modeled courageous and compassionate leadership at UC Berkeley. A staunch advocate for faculty governance, she served as Chair of the Committee on Academic Planning and Resource Allocation in 2017-2019. She then served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, where she had a key role in guiding our campus through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. As executive dean, she worked with the faculty on important changes to the L&S Executive Committee, such as reestablishing elected faculty leadership in the College of Letters & Science, that have advanced shared governance.
You can read more about Dean Johnson-Hanks’s accomplishments on the L&S website. Please join me in expressing gratitude for her many contributions to L&S and extraordinary service to UC Berkeley. I will keep you updated as plans for the future take shape.
Sincerely,
Benjamin E. Hermalin, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
