James Bullock appointed dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Astrophysicist James Bullock has been designated dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, starting July 1, as announced by USC on Monday.

Bullock presently serves as dean of the School of Physical Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where he supervises the departments of chemistry, earth system science, mathematics, and physics and astronomy.

“James is an innovative scientist whose research is driven by broad inquiries about the Milky Way and beyond,” USC President Carol Folt remarked. “His capacity to envision possibilities will enable him to steer USC Dornsife through a changing landscape of scientific breakthroughs, technological progress, and social sciences. His established leadership in cultivating new interdisciplinary and community collaborations will enhance the college’s scholarly impact and reach.”

“I am thrilled to welcome James as the new dean of USC Dornsife,” stated Andrew T. Guzman, USC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “His progressive outlook and passion for our academic objectives have inspired all participants in the search process. He is exceptionally well-qualified to navigate the complexities and prospects facing USC’s largest school. I eagerly anticipate working alongside him to enhance USC Dornsife’s exceptional scholarship and excellent teaching.”

A professor of physics and astronomy and a specialist on galaxy formation and the essence of dark matter, Bullock has been part of the UCI faculty since 2004 and has held the dean position at the School of Physical Sciences since 2019. As dean, he has concentrated on bolstering student success and raising the school’s profile globally and locally. He doubled the school’s philanthropic contributions, established an Industry Advisory Board composed of local CEOs and notable alumni, and acquired funding to launch a quantum science institute, the first of its kind at UCI.

Advocating for liberal arts and sciences

Bullock expressed enthusiasm about directing the diverse array of disciplines at USC Dornsife, USC’s largest and oldest institution, which includes the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. “It’s the core of USC,” remarked Bullock, who will also occupy the Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair.

USC Dornsife’s focus on interdisciplinary education was among the aspects that attracted Bullock to this position. “I’m someone who gained immensely from a liberal arts education,” he reflected. He reminisced on his time as an undergraduate at The Ohio State University, where he hesitated to take courses beyond his majors in physics and mathematics. However, enrolling in classes in English, philosophy, history, and other fields significantly shaped his scholarly approach.

“It enhanced my capabilities as a scientist,” stated Bullock, who later earned a doctorate in physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “Exposure to different perspectives and modes of knowledge … transformed my problem-solving approaches.”

USC Dornsife’s alumni feature Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize recipients, tech innovators, and civic leaders, highlighting the college’s strong commitment to equipping students for not just prosperous careers but also fulfilling lives. “That’s one reason I am particularly thrilled about this opportunity, as I genuinely believe that the liberal arts serve as a pathway to a deeper understanding of life.”

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“and more enriching life,” he remarked.

Bullock will be the 23rd head to guide USC Dornsife since its inception in 1880. He follows Amber D. Miller, now leading the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, while taking over from interim Dean Moh El-Naggar.

Investigating the enigmas of the universe

Bullock compared his journey in the liberal arts to that of gazing through a telescope — both pursuits broadened his perspective. One of Bullock’s earliest recollections is seeing the moon through a telescope for the very first time at about 5 years of age. “It was this sudden awareness that there’s so much more in the universe than what you can observe immediately,” Bullock expressed. “A window opened to a vaster reality.”

He matured into a scientist intrigued by profound inquiries about humanity’s role in the universe: “How did our galaxy come into being, and how do we perceive ourselves, our own galaxy and our planet amid this vast cosmos we inhabit?” he pondered.

Employing computer models, analytical frameworks, and data from advanced telescopes including the James Webb Space Telescope, Bullock examines how galaxies and their associated dark matter halos originated and changed over billions of years.

He has held the position of chair of the University of California Observatories Keck Time Allocation Committee for Extragalactic Science, director of the University of California multicampus Southern California Center for Galaxy Evolution, and director of the UCI Center for Cosmology. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society.

Transforming USC Dornsife to face future challenges

Bullock comes to USC Dornsife during a period of swift societal evolution due to advancements in artificial intelligence and other influences. “Graduates from USC Dornsife will embark on careers that presently don’t even exist,” Bullock stated. “The competencies essential for thriving in a landscape so rich with transformation are precisely those inherent to the liberal arts: profound understanding, critical analysis, effective communication, and scientific precision.”

He emphasized USC Dornsife’s advantages in practical research, experiential learning, and community involvement as crucial for equipping students for future careers. Students work directly with faculty on research initiatives across a broad spectrum of fields — on campus, in Los Angeles, and globally — gaining experiences typically reserved for graduate scholars at other institutions. Initiatives like USC Dornsife’s Public Exchange align academic expertise with public organizations and nonprofits to foster real-world impact.

“I believe USC Dornsife can stand as a global model for what a liberal arts education entails,” Bullock articulated. “Public engagement and impactful scholarship will closely intertwine with our educational purpose, which has never been more vital. I’m thrilled to collaborate with our exceptional faculty, staff, and students to showcase the influence and potential of letters, arts, and sciences for Los Angeles and beyond.”

Embracing the Trojan spirit

Bullock — who resides in Manhattan Beach with his spouse, Blake Bullock, a vice president at Northrop Grumman, and their two daughters, aged 13 and 16 — has discovered USC Dornsife to be an “inviting and friendly environment,” he expressed.

During his campus visits, he noted that “students, faculty, and staff possess a genuine care for USC and particularly USC Dornsife,” he said, observing that the essence of the Trojan Family is “deeply experienced.”

He got a glimpse of the vastness of the Trojan Family when he received a call from a USC recruiter informing him of the deanship opportunity at USC Dornsife. “When I received the call, I was in the midst of listening to the novel James,” Bullock described. He soon realized that the author of the novel, Percival Everett, is a Distinguished Professor of English at USC Dornsife — “a wonderful connection,” he remarked.