Laura Gomez, a native New Mexican and former UNM professor, has been promoted to interim dean of the UCLA Division of Social Sciences.
“I’m really excited about it, it’s a big job,” Gomez said.
Gomez will be the first woman to head this division at UCLA.
"Its very exciting... it's overdue because it's a time in social science where there (are) many (more) women getting more Ph.Ds than men," Gomez said. "So it's good the admin is catching up with how the student body works."
As interim dean, Gomez hopes to further hone and strengthen her administration skills and diplomatic skills, she said. In order to get the promotion she already had to have a certain level of diplomatic skills.
Gomez spent her formative years in New Mexico and attended Valley High School.
"I got a great education, in particular there were some strong English departments," she said, adding that Valley High School had some great and influential teachers.
Gomez graduated from Harvard after attending Valley High School, and afterward accepted a position at UCLA before returning to UNM for a brief time as a visiting professor.
“Even spending a year would be wonderful,” she said. “It was a great year.”
During her time as a visiting professor there was no opening for a permanent position, and so Gomez returned to UCLA.
But, in 2005, Gomez was then offered a position as the professor of Law and American Study at UNM.
She saw this as more than just an opportunity academically, she said, but also as an opportunity to raise her son close to family, and to let him experience New Mexico.
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As a mother, Gomez said her son was also able to finish first through eighth grade in New Mexico once she secured this position. As a UNM professor, Gomez remembers the time fondly.
“It was the most fun I had at UNM,” she said. One part of the experience that stood out to her was the diversity she had among her students.
This included students of various racial backgrounds including both Latin American and Hispanic students, Gomez said, in addition to a variety of students which included graduate, undergraduate and law students.
This variety combined with the racial diversity provided “rich class discussions,” she said.
Gomez also enjoyed the opportunity to bridge the gap between Main Campus and the School of Law within her class.
“It was nice to get law to Main Campus,” she said.
Gomez still has family in New Mexico and visits often, she said.
“The people are warm in New Mexico,” Gomez said. “It was hard to leave.”
Gomez left UNM and returned to UCLA in 2011, she said, noting there were some differences in the environments of both institutions, primarily due to UCLA being a much larger university.
Gomez has seen several students from UNM attend UCLA, she said. When a UNM student transfers to UCLA she makes sure to go and say hello, welcoming them to the school.
In regards to UNM students, Gomez said she would love to see some of them come to law school at UCLA.
“It is great to go to UNM but it is also great to spread your wings after," she said.
