UC Santa Barbara’s leadership plays a critical role in our university’s stellar reputation, and in advancing it even further. Our administration is as essential to our daily operations as they are to our global research impact, cutting-edge scholarship and dynamic social culture.
Office of the Chancellor
Dennis Assanis was appointed UC Santa Barbara’s sixth chancellor in 2025. A native of Athens, Greece, Chancellor Assanis is a marine and mechanical engineer and a member of the National Academy of Engineering who holds three master's degrees and a Ph.D. from MIT. Prior to joining UC Santa Barbara he served as president of the University of Delaware for nine years, as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University and as vice president for Brookhaven National Laboratory. He was previously a member of the faculty at the University of Michigan and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Chancellor guides UC Santa Barbara in its research, teaching and service mission, shaping the university’s direction and long-term strategy by collaborating with constituents on campus, in the broader community, across the University of California and nationwide.
Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost David Marshall served 16 years as UCSB’s Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts. He was the first Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts and, from 2005 to 2012, also was Executive Dean of the College of Letters and Science.
The Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, in consultation with the Santa Barbara Division of the Academic Senate, oversees academic planning and programming, the development and implementation of academic policy and the academic personnel process.
Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Office of Research
The Office of Research helps the university community secure support for their research and creative activities.
Student Affairs
The Division of Student Affairs provides student services and programs that promote physical and emotional well-being and foster intellectual and personal development.
Administrative Services
Administrative Services provides the systems and services that create a positive campus environment in support of the University’s mission.
Institutional Advancement
The Division of Institutional Advancement works to further public understanding and recognition of UC Santa Barbara and its important mission as a leading research university, and to develop support for the institution, politically as well as financially.
Budget & Planning
The Office of Budget & Planning provides campus management with the necessary information and analysis to make decisions regarding the most effective allocation and use of campus resources.
Office of the CIO
The Office of the Chief Information Officer provides oversight for all IT activities that contribute to planning, creating, and implementing a campus-wide IT vision, and for integrating them into UCSB's strategic plan.