Barbara Sawrey is an emerita Distinguished Teaching Professor, and the former Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean of Undergraduate Education at UC San Diego.  She received her B.S. in chemistry from Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, and then worked as a chemist in the flavor and fragrance industry for a number of years.  She earned her Master’s degree from San Diego State University, and her Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry jointly from UC San Diego and SDSU.   She has been a faculty member of UC San Diego in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry since 1984.  She served as the departmental Vice Chair for 13 years, until making the move to administration in 2007.  She has won a number of teaching awards on campus, including the 1997 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award, and the UCSD Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2004.   She was the 2002 recipient of the national American Chemical Society Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, and the 2011 recipient of the Pinnacle Award for an Individual in Education, from Athena, San Diego.   She is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society, the Board of Directors of the National Conflict Resolution Center, and the Board of Governors of the Gemological Institute of America.

Current Term

2020 – 2023