President Obama nominates two to key posts

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday his intent to nominate two UCLA faculty members key posts in his administration.

 

Fernando Torres-Gil is being reappointed to the National Council on Disability, where he will serve as vice chair. He is a professor of social welfare and public policy and chair of the Department of Social Welfare in the Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is also the director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging. He was first appointed to the council in March 2010. Currently, he's also on the Board of Directors of the AARP Foundation. Torres-Gil served as the first assistant secretary for aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Lothar von Falkenhausen is being appointed to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee. He is a professor of Chinese archaeology and the associate director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. He has published widely on early Chinese ritual and music, bronze vessels and their inscriptions, regional cultures, trans-Eurasian contacts, and the history of archaeology in East Asia. His book, "Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC): The Archaeological Evidence," received the Society for American Archaeology Book Award. From 1999 to 2004, he was co-principal investigator of the UCLA-Peking University joint archaeological project in the Upper Yangzi River Basin. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 　　

 

President Obama said of them and their fellow nominees: "These individuals have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers. I am grateful they have chosen to take on these important roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come."