Eleanor Roosevelt College Provost to Retire

Ioana Patringenaru | February 23, 2008

Ann Craig

After 15 years of service as provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College, Ann Craig has announced her decision to step down at the end of the Fall Quarter of 2009, officials said last week. An expert on Latin American politics, Craig will also retire from her faculty position in the department of political science, where she has worked since 1979. A campuswide search for her successor will be initiated shortly.

Craig has had a profound impact on Eleanor Roosevelt College and the UCSD campus, officials said. As ERC's second provost, she was deeply involved in the development of the college’s permanent home on the north campus, a total of 23 buildings, including residence halls and apartments currently accommodating about 1,350 residents, as well as an administrative building.

Craig took the helm of Fifth College/ERC shortly after it received its name. The provost was responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of the campus celebration surrounding the naming ceremony, which included notable speakers such as David Roosevelt, grandson of the former first lady, and then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. ERC and the campus also have Craig to thank for the lasting tradition of ERC Week, held each October to commemorate the week of Eleanor Roosevelt's birthday, officials said.

During her 15-year tenure as provost, student enrollment at ERC has risen from 1771 to more than 3500. The college has added new academic and student life programs and developed new traditions that support its mission of introducing students to dimensions of international understanding and cultural diversity in its general education curriculum and co-curricular programming. 

More than one-third of each graduating class studies abroad. The International House, which is managed by the college, is a vital part of the ERC neighborhood and has a thriving set of programs available to its 250 residents and the campus, officials said.

The college's commitment to furthering the internationalization of the campus is also demonstrated by its continued sponsorship of the campus Model United Nations organization and ERC's partnerships with faculty in the development and administration of interdisciplinary curricular offerings such as the International Migration Studies and Human Rights Minors, they added.

International Education Week, a new tradition at UC San Diego, was initiated by the International House and ERC to engage multiple campus departments in highlighting international programs across the campus.