Our Provost

Provost Angela Booker

Angela Booker, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Communication was appointed as the inaugural Provost of Eighth College, effective January 3, 2023.

Professor Booker has been a member of the Communication faculty for the last 10 years. Her scholarly work explores the intersection between communication, learning, community engagement, social justice and undoing structural racism. She is co-editor of the book, “Power and Privilege in the Learning Sciences: Critical and Sociocultural Theories of Learning,” with Indigo Esmonde, and has published extensively on the topics of learning theory and technology, civic practice and engagement, and social change. She is an active, long-time member of the Democracy Lab in the Department of Communication and is also the co-director of the Black Studies Project.

In addition to her research and writing, Professor Booker has repeatedly demonstrated her teaching excellence and commitment to students. She has been the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Communication since 2021. An active member of the Thurgood Marshall College faculty, she has served on the executive committee and is the Faculty Director of the Public Service minor. She was selected for the Outstanding Faculty Award by the Black Resource Center and was a Hellman Fellow in 2014-15.

Through the many facets of her work, Professor Booker has demonstrated a deep commitment to student success and the vision of Eighth College and its theme of “Engagement and Community,” through which students can develop an understanding of their own identities’ vis á vis broader communities. Booker’s work in areas including access to math learning as a civil rights issue and her long-time partnership with the Town & Country Learning Center in Southeast San Diego, as well as her research and writing in the areas of social justice, community service and organizing for policy change, and the inclusion of young people in civic participation make her uniquely suited to leading UC San Diego’s newest college.

Faculty Bio

A Message From Provost Angela Booker

It is my pleasure to welcome the inagural class to Eighth College in Fall 2023!

Our college theme is Community & Engagement, and students in our college have a unique opportunity to shape and influence our new traditions and programs. I’ve heard it described as the most exciting new startup on campus. Eighth College makes integrity, ethical relations, reciprocity, and social justice core principles of its educational mission. Our curriculum centers around a commitment to anti-racism and is anchored by our Engagement Course Series. Our Engagement Courses will help you build strong and honorable community relationships, locally and around the world, and your general education will ensure direct, practical experience.

Our team of remarkable faculty and staff are driven by passion and expertise in our mission to provide an exceptional education that builds students’ knowledge, skills, networks, and courage to address the great challenges facing the communities in which we live and are meant to thrive.

I look foward to meeting you in the fall and welcoming you to your new home away from home at UC San Diego!