Preeminent Biochemist Daniel J. Donoghue Appointed as UC San Diego’s Sixth College Provost

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Dan Donoghue, provost of UC San Diego’s Sixth College

Daniel J. Donoghue, vice-chair of the University of California, San Diego’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been appointed as provost at UC San Diego’s Sixth College, effective January 2012.

“Professor Donoghue has a demonstrated history of commitment to undergraduate education and service to the campus,” said Suresh Subramani, executive vice-chancellor for Academic Affairs. “He regularly teaches large lower-division courses and is a popular instructor among students. His administrative and academic accomplishments and his commitment to educational excellence at UC San Diego make him exceptionally well-qualified to provide leadership as provost of Sixth College.”

UC San Diego’s Sixth College, the university’s youngest college, was established in 2001 with a core academic mission of examining culture and art, and how they intersect with science and technology, creating pervasive impact in everyday lives. UC San Diego’s college system is designed to provide students with many of the advantages of a small liberal arts college plus the opportunities and resources of a large research university.

“It is a great honor and pleasure to become the provost of Sixth College,” Donoghue said. “Sixth College is an exciting and dynamic place for student activities. The goal of Sixth College is to provide our students with a superb education that incorporates experiential learning. This unique approach allows Sixth College students to acquire the skills and inspiration to become the dynamic and creative leaders of tomorrow.”

Donoghue, a highly regarded biochemist, has been a member of the UC San Diego faculty since 1982. He received a B.Sc. in 1974 in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980. Donoghue joined the UC San Diego faculty following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

He has been strong an advocate for the undergraduate experience at UC San Diego, supporting students socially intellectually and emotionally. “Sixth College is a community where creativity and expression are encouraged, involving students in many college activities.”

Donoghue has been the recipient of a Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship, a Searle Scholars Fellowship, an American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award, Senior Faculty Award from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and a co-recipient of a grant from the Lucille P. Markey Foundation Charitable Trust Funds.

Since 1985, he has served as the program director of a training grant from the National Cancer Institute. The program brings together 32 faculty researchers in the area of basic cancer research and provides funding for predoctoral and postdoctoral cancer research fellows on campus, including multiple minority supplements for outstanding young scientists.

From 2007 to 2009, Donoghue served as a member of the Undergraduate Student Experience and Satisfaction Steering Committee (later renamed Committee on Student Life and Engagement). Donoghue has served on many committees of the UC San Diego Academic Senate, including the Privilege and Tenure and Academic Personnel committees. His recent campus service includes one year as vice-chair and then chair of the UC San Diego Division of the Academic Senate, and co-chair of the Senate Administration Joint Task Force on Budget. For the past four years, he has served as vice-chair for graduate education of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

For more information on UC San Diego’s Sixth College, go to http://sixth.ucsd.edu/.