News

Climate at a Crossroads: Kyle Meng Brings data and direction to California Policy

When Kyle Meng stepped into the hearing room in Sacramento on April 30, he wasn’t just delivering policy advice—he was delivering a decade’s worth of expertise at the intersection of environmental economics and climate science. As California weighs reauthorizing its signature cap-and-trade program, Meng’s voice is increasingly one of the most trusted in the conversation.

Charmaine Chua Receives Harold J. Plous Memorial Award

Charmaine Chua, Assistant Professor of Global Studies, has received the 2023-2024 Harold J. Plous Memorial Award. Established in 1957 to honor Harold J. Plous, Assistant Professor of Economics, this award is given annually to an assistant professor or instructor in humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences who has demonstrated outstanding performance by creative action or contribution to the intellectual life of the university's community. On April 11, 2024, Charmaine Chua gave the Harold J.

Political Scientist Christopher Parker Named a 2025 Carnegie Fellow

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded Christopher Sebastian Parker a 2025 Carnegie Fellowship to fund his timely and incisive research on political polarization and communities of color. Parker, a UC Santa Barbara professor of political science, is among 26 distinguished recipients chosen from over 300 nominees for this honor, which includes a stipend of up to $200,000 to support his research.  

A Message From Our New Propel Program Director

My name is Bryan Zuniga, and I am honored to introduce myself as the new PROPEL Program Director within UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Social Sciences. I walked the same campus as a first-generation Promise Scholar less than a handful of years ago— and like many of our scholars, my frame of reference for higher education was always beyond who and what was familiar to me. Also coming from an under-resourced, low-income background, I’m extremely grateful to help PROPEL Scholars, who share similar stories, aspire on their own terms and make the most of UCSB.

Leah Stokes receives the prestigious Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communication

Leah Stokes, Associate Professor of Political Science at UCSB, received the prestigious Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communication. Named for outspoken climate scientist Stephen H. Schneider, one of the founding fathers of climatology, the award “recognizes a natural or social scientist who has made extraordinary scientific contributions and communicated that knowledge to a broad public in a clear, compelling fashion.” Stokes researches public policy, public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on energy, environment and climate change.

Amit Ahuja Named as One of India's Leading Intellectuals by ThePrint

Amit Ahuja, Associate Professor of Political Science at UCSB, was named by ThePrint as one of India's political thought leaders to watch out for in the next decade. Ahuja is the author of Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements, which won the 2020 New India Foundation Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Book Prize.

UCSB Students Start Free Tutoring Program for Local Children

In 2023, Jessica Lickstein, a third-year sociology major at UCSB, started Education+, an organization composed of fellow UCSB students that offers free virtual tutoring for students in grades K-8. Education+ was born out of Lickstein's experience volunteering in a kindergarten classroom and witnessing first-hand the education disparities between children from low-income families and children from moderate- or high-income families.

UCSB Moot Court Advances to Preliminary Round of the National Tournament!

Congratulations to UCSB Moot Court for their stellar job in representing UCSB by advancing to the final round of the competition season and qualifying to compete on a national stage!

Moot Court at UCSB is an 18 student organization with a total of 9 2-person teams.