THE DEAN Carol Padden , MA ’ 80 , PhD ’ 83
WHEN CAROL PADDEN arrived on campus to study linguistics in 1978 , she had no idea how far she would go , nor that she would never leave . But going from grad student to dean of Social Sciences was aided by what she considers UC San Diego ’ s most defining strength : “ We have the ability to change our structure as needed , and that ’ s not always the case for other universities that are more steeped in tradition . They struggle with how to get out of that tradition to make new plans . That ’ s not the case here .”
Padden ’ s plan to study linguistics was inspired by her unique upbringing as the second deaf child of two deaf parents . She used sign language at home growing up in Washington , D . C ., making it hard to get by when she transferred to a public grade school . “ I was the only deaf child among hearing classmates ,” says Padden . “ It was like walking in two different worlds .” She traces her initial interest in language back to the experience of moving between these worlds , essentially communicating across cultures .
This fascination brought her to UC San Diego , where she focused on language emergence , structure and cultural life in deaf communities . Such focus broke new ground in linguistics on the broader relation of mind , culture and gesture . After earning her degrees , she was among the first cohort to be hired as permanent faculty into the university ’ s Department of Communication .
After 35 years of teaching , research and numerous administrative roles , she was appointed dean of the Division of Social Sciences in 2014 , the first-ever UC San Diego alumnus to serve in a top academic position . She now oversees the university ’ s largest division — 11 departments and 16 interdisciplinary programs and research centers , and of course the education of 10,000 students during any given year . But her favorite part of the job ? Meeting alumni .
“ When you connect with alumni , they tell you about their experience , what they have learned , and they give me a sense of where the university needs to be in the next five to 10 years ,” says Padden . “ It ’ s my job to take the university there — to bring in the past and plan for the future .”
THE PROFESSOR Olivia Graeve ’ 95
OLIVIA GRAEVE WORKS with extremes — extreme temperatures , pressures , even acidic or radioactive conditions . A professor at UC San Diego ' s Jacobs School of Engineering , Graeve develops materials that can withstand a variety of extreme conditions , while also seeking manufacturing processes that are faster and more cost-effective .
Graeve grew up in Tijuana , and when she transferred to UC San Diego as a sophomore to study structural engineering , she found herself entering another extreme — a field of science largely dominated by men . Among only a handful of women as an undergraduate researcher , Graeve found a tremendous amount of support in her professor , Joanna McKittrick . “ The experience put me on an excellent path , seeing firsthand what it takes to run a research laboratory ,” she says . Now as a professor herself , Graeve mentors underrepresented students and leads outreach programs on both sides of the border . “ When you ’ re the only one , you become a representative for your community ,” she says .
Graeve went coast to coast for her graduate work as well as early faculty positions , but ultimately she felt the need to bring her impact back to where she came from . “ The opportunity to serve my alma mater and the region in which I grew up is something that is very important to me ,” she says . “ Coming back to UC San Diego was coming home — who would not want to be home ?”
As far as serving her region , Graeve is founder and director of the CaliBaja Center for Resilient Materials & Systems , which partners with 19 institutions on both sides of the border to give next-generation global scientists and engineers the cultural understanding needed to serve the CaliBaja region , home to 6.5 million people . Graeve hopes it will inspire more students in Tijuana to consider UC San Diego for their education , just as she did .
“ The CaliBaja Center is a great experiment that is going to define the educational opportunities for students in our region , which is our home ,” says Graeve . “ We are one ; we are a community ; we have common goals . And we should never lose sight of that .”
32 TRITON | FALL 2019