Ellen Ann Wartella, Ph.D.

Dr. Wartella joined the University of California at Riverside (UCR) in 2004 as the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. She also is a distinguished professor of psychology at UCR. Currently Dr. Wartella is a co-principal investigator on a five-year, multi-site research project entitled IRADS Collaborative Research: Influence of Digital Media on Very Young Children, funded by the National Science Foundation. She was a co-principal investigator on the National TV Violence Study and a co-principal investigator of the Children's Digital Media Center project funded by the National Science Foundation. She serves on the National Educational Advisory Board of the Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Children Youth and Families. She recently served on the Institute of Medicine's Panel Study on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Research in Child Development and is the past President of the International Communication Association. As the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Dr. Wartella works closely with the Chancellor in the formulation of the campus vision and implementation of academic and administrative policies; collaborates with the Deans in recruitment and retention of faculty; has responsibility for managing the daily operations of the campus; and is principal liaison to the Academic Senate. Dr. Wartella earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota in 1977 and completed her postdoctoral research in Developmental Psychology in 1981 at the University of Kansas.