Dear colleagues,

On behalf of Global Affairs, I would like to congratulate and welcome Professor Michael Lazzara, who has been named our new Associate Vice Provost of Academic Programs in Global Affairs, effective May 1, 2019.

A passionate scholar and international educator, Michael is a professor of Latin American literature and cultural studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. He is also graduate chair in Spanish, chair of the Designated Emphasis in Human Rights, and co-champion of the Global Human Rights “Big Idea.”

Along with his extensive international experience and commitment to internationalization, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the complex academic aspects of international programs; he has chaired the Academic Senate’s Committee on International Education—at both the UC Davis and UC system levels—and has served as a member of the UC Education Abroad Program’s (UCEAP) Executive Committee.

Michael is a distinguished scholar whose achievements include several books, numerous articles, and a Fulbright Scholar award in Chile. During his 15 years and counting at UC Davis, he is known for being globally-engaged, regularly leading in-demand Study Abroad programs in Latin America and serving on the Global Education for All Steering Committee. He is also a co-PI on a Global Affairs Seed Grant for International Activities project titled “Teaching Human Rights in the Americas.”

As an enthusiastic leader with a deep commitment to the field of international education, I know Michael is ready to lead our Academic Programs pillar of Global Affairs. His collaborative spirit makes him well-suited for engaging our faculty across disciplines, streamlining our international partnerships, and infusing valuable international dimensions into UC Davis’ research, teaching, and service missions.

I hope you will join us in welcoming Professor Michael Lazzara to his new role in Global Affairs. We look forward to continuing to work with all of you in our mission to inspire global curiosity, understanding, and engagement!

Sincerely,

Joanna Regulska

Vice Provost and Associate Chancellor of Global Affairs
Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies
University of California, Davis

About Global Affairs at UC Davis

Global Affairs brings the world to UC Davis, welcoming more than 10,000 international students, scholars and leaders, and hosting programs that inspire global curiosity, understanding and engagement. Compelled by the valuable outcomes of thinking globally, we make transformative opportunities a reality by supporting the thousands of students and faculty studying and researching internationally—and by facilitating collaborations that tackle the world's most pressing problems through more than 150 international partnerships.

Putting our vision of a UC Davis community that engages, thrives, and leads in this interconnected world into action, Global Affairs is now in pursuit of an ambitious goal: Global Education for All.

Biography of Michael Lazzara

Michael Lazzara is Professor of Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Graduate Chair in Spanish, and Chair of the Designated Emphasis in Human Rights. His research focuses on postdictatorship and postconflict culture in contemporary Latin America, particularly on the ways in which individuals and societies construct memories of past political violence. His publications include the books Chile in Transition: The Poetics and Politics of Memory (2006), Luz Arce and Pinochet’s Chile: Testimony in the Aftermath of State Violence (2011), and Civil Obedience: Complicity and Complacency in Chile since Pinochet(2018), as well as several edited volumes and numerous articles in prestigious national and international journals. He is the former Chair of the UC Davis Committee on International Education and is currently chairing the UC systemwide Committee on International Education. For over a decade, he has regularly led popular Summer Abroad and Quarter Abroad programs in Latin America. He has been a Fulbright Fellow, is Co-Champion of the “Global Human Rights” Big Idea, and serves as co-PI on a Global Affairs Seed Grant for International Engagement titled “Teaching Human Rights in the Americas.