Deans of the UCSF Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (Formerly known as the Graduate Division)
Nicquet Blake, PhD (2021-present)
Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs
(2021-2025) Dean of the Graduate Division and Vice Provost of Student Academic Affairs
Nicquet Blake, PhD, a prominent advocate for access and dignity in higher education, joined UC San Francisco in December 2021. During her tenure as Vice Provost and Dean of the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, Dr. Blake has been dedicated to enhancing the academic training environment and professional development opportunities for students and postdocs. She is currently implementing best practices in a variety of areas including recruitment, admissions, mentorship, competency assessment, enrollment management, academic program development, and policy reviews for all graduate programs. Her work has received funding from the NIH for over 17 years. Before joining UCSF, Dr. Blake was the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at UT Health San Antonio, where she spearheaded transformative changes increase access to the doctoral degree. Under her leadership, significant improvements were made in recruiting and supporting students from historically underserved backgrounds. Blake holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology from UT San Antonio and a doctorate in neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis.
Elizabeth Silva, PhD
Interim Dean of the Graduate Division (2021)
Elizabeth Watkins, PhD
Dean of the Graduate Division and Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs (2012-2021)
Elizabeth Watkins, PhD, was appointed dean of the Graduate Division and Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs in 2012. She was director of graduate studies for the History of Health Sciences program, which she and her colleagues reopened after she arrived at UCSF in 2004, and a professor in the department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine. During her tenure, the Graduate Division developed the $150 million Discovery Fellows endowment for PhD students in the basic sciences, the largest endowment for graduate students in the history of the University of California.
Joseph Castro, PhD
Interim Dean (2011-2012)
Patricia Calarco, PhD
Dean of the Graduate Division (2007-2011)
Interim Dean (2005-2007)
Patricia Calarco served as associate dean of the Graduate Division since January 1998 and served as interim dean from November 2005 until her appointment as dean in 2007. She maintained an active research program during her tenure and retired in 2011 after a 40-year career at UCSF. She has significant experience on editorial boards, study sections for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health (NIH), and as chair of a Fulbright Committee. Honors include the UCSF Chancellor's Award for Public Service, NIH Career Development Award, fellow of the AAAS, chair, Women in Cell Biology (American Society for Cell Biology), American Council on Education Fellow and president of the Microscopy Society of America.
C. Clifford Attkisson, PhD
Dean of the Graduate Division and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs (1992-2005)
Interim Dean (1991-1992)
Clifford Attkisson was appointed professor of medical psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) from 1970 to 2008. In addition, he also served as dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and associate vice chancellor for Student Academic Affairs at UCSF from 1991 to 2005. Before this he was UCSF associate dean of Graduate Studies, and director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program. From 1985 to 2010 he was principal investigator and director of the UCSF Clinical Services Postdoctoral Training program funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.
Attkisson taught graduate courses in health psychology, program evaluation research, and evolution, history, and reform of the health care system. He is the senior editor of three books: Evaluation of Human Service Programs, Depression in Primary Care, and Mental Disorders in Primary Care. In addition, he has published numerous articles in scientific journals, edited books, and governmental publications. He has served as principal investigator on numerous scientific grants and (pre- and postdoctoral) training programs funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, state government agencies, and various national foundations.
Lloyd Kozloff, PhD
Dean of the Graduate Division (1981-1991)
Lloyd Kozloff came to UCSF in 1980. He was appointed professor of Microbiology and Immunology and served as dean of the Graduate Division from 1981 to 1991. He brought valuable perspective to the thriving graduate programs at UCSF. In the 1980s, the Program in Biological Sciences (PIBS) and the Biomedical Sciences program (BMS) were developing at Parnassus and the Graduate Division became responsible for a growing number of postdoctoral scholars in biological, physical, and social sciences. The stunning discoveries of UCSF’s research scientists in the 1970s were, by the 1980s, being recognized and commercialized through biotechnology and bioengineering, producing many job opportunities for postdocs in industry as well as in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. Kozloff retired in 1993, and the Lloyd M. Kozloff Fellowship fund for support for PhD students was initiated in his honor.
Harold A. Harper
Dean of the Graduate Division (1961-1980)
Harold Harper joined the UCSF faculty in 1953, when the university was expanding and decentralizing and the San Francisco Medical Center was on the verge of becoming a separate campus of UC. Harper is remembered as a champion who waged “a courageous, effective, and continual fight for increased recognition of graduate activities in general and basic sciences in particular.” As of July 1, 1961, the Regents formally created an independent San Francisco Graduate Division with a Dean and governing Graduate Council separate from the northern section at Berkeley, which had supervised graduate education at Parnassus until this time. Harper served as dean for nearly 20 years. He retired as professor emeritus in 1979 and stepped down as dean of the Graduate Division in 1980. He died in 1989.