By Peggy McInerny, Director of Communications
UCLA International Institute, February 24, 2025 — The International Institute is happy to share news about new faculty in leadership posts, as well as faculty research honors.
Leadership news
Mike Thies, associate professor of political science, became associate vice provost of the International Institute, effective January 1, 2025. In his new post, he will collaborate with Associate Vice Provost David Kim and Vice Provost Cindy Fan in leading the organization.
Currently interim chair of the institute’s global studies and international area studies (I&AS) programs for the 2024–25 academic year, Thies previously chaired the two programs for 9 and 12 years, respectively. The political scientist has a long record of service at the institute as past director of the UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies and past member of the faculty administrative/advisory committees of the International Institute, the UCLA Asia Institute (later the Asia Pacific Center) and the East Asian Studies M.A. program.
Thies has taught in the political science department since 1994, where his research centers on political institutions, elections, parties and governance in developed democracies, with a particular focus on Japan. He has published more than 30 articles and chapters in top peer-reviewed political science journals and edited volumes on Japanese politics. He is co-author (with Frances Rosenbluth) of “Japan Transformed: Political Change and Economic Restructuring” (Princeton, 2010), which was translated into Japanese as “Nihon seiji no dai-tenkan: tetsu to kome no dōmei kara Nihon-gata jiyū-shugi e” in 2012.
Thies follows Marjorie Elaine (formerly Marjorie Faulstich Orellana), professor of urban schooling at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies and former associate director of the UCLA Center for the Study of International Migration, in the post. Elaine stepped down as associate vice provost of the UCLA International Institute at the end of 2024 and will spend the 2025 calendar year on sabbatical.
In her three years as associate vice provost, Elaine led brainstorming sessions on the future of the Institute that contributed to its strategic plan update; led the “Democracy, Freedom and Truth” Generative Theme initiative with Associate Vice Provost David Kim; oversaw the institute’s Dissertation Fieldwork Fellowships applications; created monthly community days to bring institute staff and faculty together; and supported the Institute leadership with a variety of administrative responsibilities, including faculty hiring. The institute's leadership thanks her for her hard work, innovative ideas and contributions to the institute.
Mark Kligman, Mickey Katz Professor of Jewish Music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and director of its Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, became interim director of the UCLA Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies on January 1. Kligman is also professor of ethnomusicology, musicology and humanities at the music school. A former member of the faculty advisory committee of the Y&S Nazarian Center, he continues to serve on the faculty advisory committee of the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies. Kligman is also academic chair of the Jewish Music Forum and co-editor of the journal Musica Judaica.
Professor Kligman’s research focuses on the liturgical traditions of Middle Eastern Jewish communities and various areas of both the liturgical history of Jewish music and popular Jewish music. He has published on the liturgical music of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn in both journals and the book, “Maqam and Liturgy: Ritual, Music and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn” (Wayne State University, 2009). He is currently writing a book on Orthodox popular music from 1960 to 2010.
Kligman takes over the helm from Dov Waxman, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Israel Studies and professor of political science at UCLA, who stepped down as director of the Y&S Nazarian Center at the end of 2024. Waxman will continue to teach courses in Israel studies and international relations at UCLA. Over the past five years as director, Waxman — together with the center’s staff — helped make the Nazarian Center one of the leading centers for Israel studies in the world, as well as a unique, much-needed place on our campus for all members of the UCLA community and local community to learn about Israel in all its complexity. The institute thanks him for his dedicated service to the center, particularly over the past, exceptionally challenging year.
Roger Waldinger, director of the Center for the Study of International Migration (CSIM) and distinguished professor of sociology at UCLA, will step down from his leadership role at CSIM at the end of June 2025.
Waldinger is a prolific scholar in the field of migration studies. He is the author of over 125 articles and book chapters and nine books, most recently, "Origins and Destinations: The Making of the Second Generation" (with Renee Reichl Luthra and Thomas Soehl; Russell Sage, 2018), "A Century of Transnationalism: Immigrants and their Homeland Connections" (edited with Nancy Green; University of Illinois, 2016) and "The Cross-Border Connection: Immigrants, Emigrants and their Homelands" (Harvard, 2015).
Waldinger’s service as CSIM director reflects a two-decade long effort to build a campus-wide interdisciplinary community of migration scholars that reflects the boundary-crossing nature of the phenomenon itself. A significant part of his leadership involved mentoring a generation of new scholars in the field. CSIM provides a range of support and guidance to students pursuing doctorates in different disciplines, but whose research focuses on migration. The center offers research skills workshops led by established scholars, a student research presentation series and regular “Emerging Immigration Scholars” conferences at which early-career scholars present research papers and hear feedback from experts in the field.
Programming highlights of the past few years include two international conferences on forced migration, many public events and a webinar series of book talks cosponsored by CSIM and the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego — a collaboration that has expanded to include migration centers at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
Cecilia Menjívar, Dorothy L. Meier Chair and distinguished professor of sociology and past president of the American Sociological Association, will become director of CSIM as of July 1, 2025. Menjívar, who has been an active faculty member of CSIM and has chaired its faculty advisory committee, has published widely in two empirical areas: immigration from Central America to the United States and gender-based violence in Central America.
Her award-winning scholarship includes three books ("Immigrant Families," Wiley, 2016; "Enduring Violence: Ladina Women’s Lives in Guatemala," Oxford, 2011; and "Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigrant Networks in America," UC, 2000), 17 edited volumes; and over 150 articles, chapters, and essays. Menjívar has been recognized with multiple awards for her scholarship, teaching and mentorship, including a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship, an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and two career awards from the American Sociological Association, of which she is a former president. A future article will explore her research in depth when she takes the post.
The International Institute extends its thanks to Professor Waldinger for his tremendous contributions to building CSIM into the dynamic center it has become, and looks forward to Professor Menjívar assuming leadership of the center this summer.
Faculty News
Over the past several months, several institute faculty and center directors have been honored for their research.
Stephen Acabado, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, professor of anthropology and chair of the archaeology interdepartmental program at the UCLA Cotsen Institute, was awarded the 42nd Philippines’ National Book Award in the social sciences for his edited volume, “Plural Entanglements: Philippine Studies” (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2023; Dada Dacot and Clement Camposano, co-editors).
Jason Cong, distinguished professor of computer science and director of UCLA-PKU Students & Scholars Program, was awarded the 2024 Phil Kaufman Award in late November by the Electronic System Design Alliance — part of the global semiconductor industry association SEMI — for his contributions to design automation technology. Cong’s research over the past three decades has helped revolutionize field-programmable gate array, or FPGA, design automation, influencing both academia and industry.
Two other institute faculty received book awards for their research in the latter months of 2024. Kal Raustiala, director of the Burkle Center for International Affairs and Promise Distinguished Professor of Comparative International Law at UCLA, received the Arthur Ross Silver Medal book award from the Council on Foreign Relations in late October for his book on Ralph Bunche, “The Absolutely Indispensable Man” (Oxford, 2022).
Tejas Parasher, assistant professor of political theory and International Institute faculty member, received the 2024 Political Theory Prize of the European Consortium for Political Research for his book, “Radical Democracy in Modern Indian Political Thought” (Cambridge, 2023), in December of last year. It was Parasher’s second honor for the work, which was awarded the 2024 Best First Book Award from the Foundation of Political Theory Section of the American Political Science Association in June last year.
The International Institute congratulates all four of these scholars on their recent honors.