SSRC

Ellen Wartella joined UCR on July 1, 2004 as the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost after serving as Dean of the College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. She also is a distinguished professor of Psychology at UCR.

As the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Dr. Wartella serves as Acting Chancellor in the Chancellor’s absence; works closely with the Chancellor in the formulation of the campus vision and implementation of academic and administrative policies; works closely with the Deans in recruitment and retention of faculty; has responsibility for managing the daily operations of the campus; and is principal liaison to the Academic Senate.

Dr. Wartella earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota in 1977 and completed her postdoctoral research in development psychology in 1981 at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Wartella is a leading scholar of the role of media in children’s development. She was a co-principal Investigator on the National TV Violence Study (1995-1998) and is currently co-principal investigator of the Children’s Digital Media Center project funded by the National Science Foundation (2001-2006). She serves on the Kraft Food Global Health and Wellness Advisory Council, the Decade of Behavior National Advisory, the Board of Trustees of the Sesame Workshop, and the National Educational Advisory Board of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Better Business Bureaus.

Dr. Wartella is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Children Youth and Families and recently served on the Institute of Medicine’s Panel Study on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth (2006). She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Research in Child Development and is the past President of the International Communication Association.