April 28, 2025
Dear Trojans,
On behalf of President Folt and myself, I am excited to announce James Bullock as dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences effective July 1, 2025. Dean Bullock will hold the Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair.
As the largest and most academically diverse school on our campus, the Dornsife college is the heart of our university. Dean Bullock is both an accomplished leader and scholar, and with him at the helm, we know that the college will continue to elevate its tradition of world-class research, innovation, and overall academic excellence.
Dean Bullock joins us from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where he serves as Dean of the School of Physical Sciences. As dean, he has overseen the departments of Chemistry, Earth System Science, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy, with 175 faculty and 110 permanent staff who support 2500+ students. He received both his master’s degree and Ph.D. at University of California, Santa Cruz, and has served several prestigious academic appointments at Ohio State, Harvard, and University of California, Irvine. He also currently serves as Chair of the UC Irvine CalTeach Executive Committee, Vice Chair of the Cal-Bridge Strategic Planning Group, and Vice Chair of the Space Telescope Science Institute Council.
An accomplished professor of physics and astronomy, Dean Bullock has specialized in the field of theoretical astrophysics and cosmology to study galaxy formation and the nature of dark matter. His bibliography includes more than 225 refereed articles and approximately 55,000 citations. His work has been supported by $4.5M in funding as a Principal Investigator over the past 15 years. He has served as Chair of the University of California Observatories Keck Telescope Extragalactic Time Allocation Committee (2015-2017), Director of the UC multicampus Southern California Center for Galaxy Evolution (2010-2015), and Director of the Center for Cosmology at UC Irvine (2005-2017). He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
As dean, he doubled the School of Physical Sciences’ philanthropic support through increased alumni engagement, cultivating new donors, and creating new opportunities for industry-sponsored research. Among the most impactful gifts Dean Bullock raised were funds to establish a quantum science institute, the first of its kind at UCI. He also founded an Industry Advisory Board made up of several local CEOs and school alumni in positions of influence. These unique efforts strengthened opportunities for student success at UCI and elevated the school’s reputation locally and globally, proving his commitment to leadership at the highest level.
Prior to his role as dean, Dean Bullock served as chair of the UC Irvine Physics & Astronomy Department, which has more than 50 faculty. He also participated as a charter member of the UC Irvine Provost’s Leadership Academy, a ten-week program on finance, human relations, external communication, and fundraising in modern higher education.
President Folt has spoken with Dana and David Dornsife, both of whom have expressed their excitement for Dean Bullock’s incoming leadership. They join us in expressing our deepest gratitude to Interim Dean Moh-El Naggar for his leadership and continued dedication to the Dornsife community during this search. We could not have succeeded without his and his team’s outstanding support.
I would also like to express my thanks to the USC Dornsife dean search advisory committee, co-chaired by Pinchas Cohen, Dean of the Davis School of Gerontology, and Paula Cannon, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine. The chairs and committee provided thoughtful service through a complex process to ensure the success of this search. The search also benefited from the input and participation of so many members of the Dornsife community including students, staff, faculty, and the Dornsife school’s Board of Councilors. Their feedback throughout the process has demonstrated their commitment to the school and its community.
Please join President Folt and me as we welcome James Bullock to USC in his new role as the next dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. We are excited for his enthusiasm for our academic mission, expertise in the physical sciences, and excellence in leadership that he will bring to our community and into the future.
Sincerely,
Andrew T. Guzman
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs