Marcie Rothman Term Chair

Call for applications for the 2021-26 term
Application period is now closed

Eligibility Criteria

The Rothman Term Chair honors a UCLA professor or associate professor for a five-year term who meets the following criteria:

• a distinguished record of teaching, research and/or service in the broad area of food
• qualified to teach in the interdisciplinary subject area of food studies

In addition, eligible faculty will need to demonstrate the following:

• a commitment to teach at least one undergraduate course each appointment year which fulfills requirements for the Food Studies Minor
• a plan or project to advance research, teaching, and/or service activities as it relates to Food Studies at UCLA

Application Process

Eligible faculty will submit the following materials electronically (in a single PDF document):

• a one-page letter of interest addressed to the Dean of Undergraduate Education
• an updated CV (please underscore special achievements related to food studies)
• a vision statement (limited to three pages) outlining a feasible plan or project focus for advancing of teaching, research or service for the Food Studies program during 2021-26AY that includes:
  • a plan or project identifying at least one food studies course that will be taught annually during their incumbency as chair holder
  • a timeline that illustrates planning, implementation, and evaluation/sustainability of the proposed plan or project
• a personalized and nuanced statement of teaching, research and/or service experiences in the broad area of food:
  • a narrative that highlights evidence of quality teaching, research and/or service that would not otherwise be noticeable in the university records
  • a list of the relevant undergraduate courses from the previous five years (title and term/year offered), a brief synopsis, and a copy of the course evaluation for each.

The process for selecting the candidate for the Marcie Rothman Term Chair:

1. The Dean of Undergraduate Education appoints an ad hoc search committee of professors with records of distinguished teaching, research, and/or service but are ineligible for consideration because of their expertise falls outside the donor identified area. The ad hoc search committee will review the materials submitted by all applicants, interview top candidates, and make a recommendation to the Dean.
2. The Dean will inform the recommended candidate and oversee the preparation of the candidate’s dossier. The dossier will be presented either to the Food Studies Advisory Committee and the department of the selected candidate for review and vote.
3. The Dean forwards the completed dossier with a record of the faculty vote to the Academic Personnel Office (APO). After checking the dossier, APO forwards it to the Council on Academic Personnel (CAP) for review and recommendation to the Vice Chancellor-Academic Personnel (VC-AP) for final decision. The Dean issues the appointment letter.

Amy Rowat is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Integrative Biology and Physiology and Marcie H. Rothman Presidential Chair in Food Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.  She is also a member of the UCLA Center for Biological Physics, Bioengineering Department, Molecular Biology Institute, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Broad Stem Cell Research Center, and Business of Science Center. Rowat holds degrees from Mount Allison University (B.Sc. Honours Physics, 1998; B.A. Asian Studies, French, & Math, 1999), the Technical University of Denmark (M.Sc. Chemistry, 2000), and the University of Southern Denmark (Ph.D. Physics, 2005). She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics/ Division of Engineering & Applied Science, Harvard University as well as Brigham Women’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, such as the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER development award and a National Science Foundation BRITE Fellow award. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and 6 patents. In addition to her commitment to research, Rowat has also pioneered the use of examples from food and cooking as vehicles for teaching sophisticated physics concepts to a general audience. She is founder and director of Science & Food, an organization based at UCLA that promotes knowledge of science through food and food through science.  Dr. Rowat has received wide media coverage from outlets like the New York Times, LA Times, NPR, Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), and the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC).

For general information and questions about the Marcie H. Rothman Term Chair, please contact:

Brooke Wilkinson, Director of Academic Initiatives
Division of Undergraduate Education
bwilkinson@college.ucla.edu