Academic Leadership

Program Building

Provost, College Eight (now, Rachel Carson College), University of California, Santa Cruz. July 2006 – June 2012.

Built, from ground up, a new three quarter Interdisciplinary Topical Cluster (ITC) course sequence, entitled, Nurturing Environmental Citizenship.

Highlights:

  • Highly interdisciplinary and cross cutting, with faculty from the Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Studies, and Sociology.
  • Although voluntary, more than 100 students opted to take the entire three course sequence each year since inception.
  • The program built a new model to encourage students to take up studies of STEM disciplines.

Founder, Global Environmental Justice Observatory

Built, from ground up, a pioneering educational program focusing on environmental justice globally.

Highlights:

  • Publishes the Journal of Global Environmental Justice, the first and only peer-reviewed journal comprising of award winning student honors theses.
  • Hosts the Liminal Spaces Podcast featuring in depth interviews with leading scholars and practitioners from all over the world.
  • Runs a leadership program nurturing the next generation of environmental justice social entrepreneurs.

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Curricular

Developed a wide range of courses in environmental studies, risk studies, and science and technology policy studies. Undergraduate and Graduate course syllabi, assignments, guides to further reading, and lecture podcasts are located in Rajan’s UCSC eCommons Portal.

Former doctoral students have received appointments at leading academic institutions including University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Harvard, University of Washington, Virginia Tech, Macalester College, Goucher College; and agencies such as Ocean Conservancy.

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Editorial Boards and Academic Referee Work

  • Member, Editorial Board, Society and Natural Resources. 2017 – 2018.
  • Member, International Editorial Board. The Environment in History: International Perspectives. European Society for Environmental History Book Series. 2009 – present.
  • Member, Editorial Board, Environmental Justice. 2008 – the present.
  • Associate Editor and Member of the Editorial Board of Environment and History. 1995 – 99.

Referee for Book Manuscripts:

University of California Press. Yale University Press, Routledge, Rutgers University Press, Duke University Press.

Referee for Journal Submissions:

Meridians, Environmental History, Environment and History, Science as Culture, American Ethnologist, Contemporary South Asia; Science, Technology and Human Values.

Referee for Research Proposals submitted to Professional Associations:

NSF Geography program. 1999. NSF Science and Technology Studies Program. 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Economic and Social Science Research Foundation, UK, 2009.

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Committee Chair Duties and Memberships in International Scholarly Associations

  • Chair, Outreach Committee. American Society for Environmental History. 2010 – 2014.
  • National Panel. National Science Foundation’s, Agents of Change Program. 2004.
  • Program Chair. American Society for Environmental History Annual Meetings. Rhode Island, 2003.
  • Chair. Young Scholars Travel Funds committee of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), 2002. Member of the Committee: 2000 – 2.
  • Chair. Alice Hamilton Prize Committee of the American Society for Environmental History. 2001.  Member of the Committee: 1999 – 2001.

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Visiting Professorships

Visiting Professorship. The Energy and Resources Institute University. New Delhi.

Visiting Professorship. Jadavpur University. Calcutta.

Referee Contributions for Academic Personnel Actions and Doctoral Exams

  • New York University.
  • York University.
  • University of Oklahoma.
  • University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
  • Temple University.
  • Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

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Service at University of California, Santa Cruz

Department of Environmental Studies: 

Curriculum, Graduate, Diversity, Awards and Outreach Committees.

Colleges:

  • College Eight UCSC: Provost of the College. Fall 2006 – Spring 2012.
  • Cowell College, UCSC: Advisor to undergraduate freshmen; Commencement Speaker.

Division of Social Sciences:

  • The Committee on the South Asian Studies Initiative, 1998 – 2001.
  • Faculty associate of the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community, UCSC. 1998 – 2002.
  • Founding faculty member of the Science, Technology, Medicine and Justice Research Cluster of the CJTC. 2000.
  • Founding Faculty member of College Ten. Served on the initial advisory committee for College Ten.

Academic Senate:

  • Committee on Educational Policy, 2008 – 9.
  • Committee on Planning and Budget, 2005 – 7.
  • School of Management Steering Committee, 2006 – 7.
  • Education Abroad Program committee, 1999 – 2002.

Office of the President:

University of California review committee of the Education Abroad Program in India. 2001 – 2.

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Olga T. Griswold Chair and Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz