Mary Gauvain, a UCR distinguished professor of psychology, has been named as vice chair of the systemwide University of California Academic Senate for 2019-20, and will become chair in 2020-21. 

The UC-wide Academic Senate, or Faculty Senate, is the principle authority for academic matters within the 10-campus UC system. Each of the campuses has its own division, comprised of faculty members. Among the Senate’s responsibilities are determining academic policy; setting admissions and degree standards; overseeing curricula and courses; and advising on faculty appointments, promotions, and budgets.  

Gauvain was chair of the UCR Academic Senate from 2010-12, and is a past honoree as UCR Psychology Department Faculty of the Year. Among many distinctions, she is a fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychological Association. Research in her Cognitive Development Laboratory focuses on sociocultural contributions to cognitive development in early and middle childhood. She is currently engaged in research on children’s understanding of water and food contamination in the United States and east Africa.