September 24, 2009

UCSB Dean of Social Sciences Joins W.T. Grant Foundation Board of Trustees

Melvin Oliver, the SAGE Sara Miller McCune Dean of Social Sciences and a professor of sociology at UC Santa Barbara, is one of four new members appointed to the Board of Trustees of the William T. Grant Foundation. His three-year term will begin in October.

An expert on racial and urban inequality and poverty, Oliver is co-author of the critically acclaimed book "Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality." Prior to his tenure at UCSB, he served as vice president of the Asset Building and Community Development Program at the Ford Foundation, which is focused on reducing poverty and injustice around the world. He also spent 18 years on the faculty at UCLA, where he was director of the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty.

Other newly appointed board members include Olivia Golden, a fellow at the Urban Institute, where she focuses on child and family programs, specifically service providers; Nancy Gonzales, an ASU Foundation Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and co-director of the Principal Research Core at the campus's Prevention Research Center; and Kenneth Prewitt, the Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

"We are very pleased that these outstanding colleagues are joining our Board," said Robert C. Granger, president of the Foundation. "Their wisdom, skills, and diversity bring us great strength."

Founded in 1936, the William T. Grant Foundation is dedicated to understanding human behavior through research. A private grant-making institution, the Foundation currently funds high-quality empirical research, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of youth ages 8 to 25 in the United States. In 2008, grants totaling more than $11 million were awarded to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners invested in the future of the nation's young people.

The Foundation's current research interests involve the study of social settings, such as families, schools, peer groups, and organizations, and understanding how they affect youth. Research interests also focus on when, how, and under what conditions research evidence is used in policy and practice that affect youth, and how its use can be improved.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.