Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies Peter Dale, who has been guiding the campus in its efforts to strengthen undergraduate education, has decided to leave his administrative post July 1. "After more than five years as vice provost, it is time for me to get back to my research and to teaching -- and give someone else an opportunity to serve the campus in this critical area," Dale said. "Academic administration is best served by a constant influx of new people willing to serve. I am certain that there will be no shortage of colleagues eager to take up where I have left off." Dale was appointed vice provost in July 1995 but had served in an acting capacity the two previous years. He has been responsible for campuswide leadership and coordination of undergraduate academic programs and serves as the principal liaison between the administration and the faculty on undergraduate program matters. "The first person to hold this UC Davis post, Peter has brought a defining vision to the role of undergraduate education in a research university and furthered the campus's quest to enrich undergraduates' intellectual development," said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert Grey. "The chancellor and I -- indeed, the campus -- are indebted to him for his deep commitment to undergraduate instruction and for his effective leadership. His legacy is substantial." Among undergraduate initiatives launched under Dale's leadership was a revision of the campus's general education requirement to include a requirement in social and cultural diversity. He continued his efforts to renew general education by urging the creation of separate college and divisional curricula in science, social science, and humanities, arts and cultural studies. Dale was instrumental in establishing the campus's honors program and inaugurated the campus's first journal for undergraduate research. The Education Abroad Program expanded on his watch, and a number of new international agreements were negotiated. He worked with the Teaching Resources Center to establish a summer institute in instructional technology for faculty and to improve the preparation of teaching assistants. He helped the campus develop innovative instructional programs with the local community college district. He was instrumental in pulling together a UC council of administrators directly responsible for undergraduate education and participated actively in the organization of a new systemwide Washington, D.C., Center. "I hope, above all, that I have succeeded in keeping attention focused on the one thing we must do if we are to be a great university -- namely, provide our undergraduates with not just a passable, but a quality, education," Dale added. "If we don't succeed here, all our complex concerns with fund raising, hiring world-class researchers, capital improvement, technology transfer, outreaching, etc. are without a foundation -- a perspective I know is shared by the administration and by faculty leaders." A search for Dale's replacement is expected to be initiated this fall, with a successor in place by next July 1. The search will likely be limited to UC candidates. Dale joined the UC Davis faculty in 1980, serving as chair of the English department from 1991 to 1993. He was an assistant professor at Harvard University from 1974 to 1980 and assistant dean from 1978 to 1980. His specialty is 19th-century British literature and history. Dale received a bachelor's degree in English from Dartmouth College, a master's in history of the English language from Columbia University, a master's in history and literature from the University of Keele in England, and a doctorate in English from the University of Cambridge.