Celebrating the groundbreaking work and leadership of GPS faculty members, including research advancements and new endowed chair holders
This summer, the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) is celebrating a number of new appointments for existing faculty.
Samuel Bazzi has been named the Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations. Bazzi, who has been a professor at GPS since 2021, focuses his research on the intersection of development economics and political economy, such as this recent paper on authority figures and the polarization of gender norms.
Rafael Fernández de Castro has been reappointed as the Aaron Feldman Family Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in U.S.-Mexican Studies in Memory of David Feldman. His current research includes a book on leadership and decision-making in Mexican foreign policy, and he will soon lead the formal launch of the U.S.–Mexico Artificial Intelligence Hub, which will convene with a summit of cross-sector leaders from government, industry, academia and civil society.
Teevrat Garg has been named the Marshall Saunders Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Global Climate Policy and Research. An associate professor of economics, Garg’s research focuses on environmental policy and energy transitions in low- and middle-income countries.
Joshua Graff Zivin has been appointed Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives at GPS and also holds the CGT Endowed Chair in Technology Policy. He is an applied microeconomist whose research extends across multiple domains, anchored by work in environmental economics and the economics of science and innovation. Read about his recent work on the importance of philanthropic giving for the U.S. to maintain its competitive edge in scientific research.
Gordon McCord has been promoted to Full Teaching Professor. In addition, he was awarded the Rafael and Marina Pastor Chancellor’s Endowed GPS Faculty Fellowship to support his research that focuses on the intersection of environmental economics, public health and economic development. Read his recent research on how early detection systems for desert locusts can dramatically reduce long-term harms to humans.
Margaret Roberts has been named as the new director of the 21st Century China Center as well as a joint faculty appointment at GPS. She studies censorship in the People’s Republic of China, and her research interests lie in the intersection of political methodology and the politics of information. A recent study in Nature, co-authored by Roberts, suggests governments can indirectly influence large language models (LLMs) by shaping the online media environment, and thus the text those systems learn from.