BIOGRAPHY
Daniel Press joined Santa Clara University as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in July 2020. He came to SCU from UC Santa Cruz where he taught for 28 years. Among his many accomplishments, Press raised $13 million for UCSC’s sustainable agriculture program and helped establish the Environmental Studies Ph.D., master’s in Coastal Science and Policy, as well as the Agroecology bachelor’s degree program. He also served as UC Santa Cruz’s executive director of the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems—an educational, research, and public service organization dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and addressing social justice in the food system.
An environmental policy expert, Press served for six years on the California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, and has advised several land trusts and an environmental education non-governmental organization. He is the author of three books on U.S. environmental politics and policy as well as numerous articles and reports.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Political Science, The Claremont Graduate University, 1992
M.A., Public Policy, The Claremont Graduate University, 1989
B.S., Fermentation Science, University of California, Davis, 1984
Leadership Academy, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2013
AWARDS and HONORS
Olga T. Griswold Professor of Environmental Studies, 2007 – 2017.
Golden Apple Teaching Award, Social Sciences Division, 2008.
Co-Chair, Pepper-Giberson Endowed Chair in Environmental Studies, 1996 – 2002.
Excellence in Teaching, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1996.
PROFESSIONAL & ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Professor, Environmental Studies Department, UC, Santa Cruz, 2003 – 2020.
Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Department, UC, Santa Cruz,1998 – 2003.
Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Department, UC, Santa Cruz, 1992 – 1998.
Fellow, Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning, UC, Santa Cruz, 2017 – 2019.
ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS
Associate Dean, Social Sciences Division, UC, Santa Cruz, 2018 – 2020.
Executive Director, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable, Food Systems, UC, Santa Cruz, 2012 – 2019.
Department Chair, Environmental Studies Department, UC, Santa Cruz, 2004 – 2010.
Board Member, CA Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, 2001 – 2008.
Chair, Chancellor’s Council on Climate Change, UC, Santa Cruz, 2008 – 2010.