He immigrated to the United States to study at Yale before accepting the task as the new dean of the Graduate School.Astrid Merget, executive vice chancellor and provost, announced on Wednesday William Worger as the new dean of the University’s Graduate School.”His sterling academic credentials — as a professor of history with expertise on South Africa … confirm his intellectual and institutional leadership that promise to enhance our Graduate School,” Merget said in a news release. Worger wants to expand the scholarships in the graduate school to increase diversity, at the University. Worger said he wants to attract more international students to the graduate program.Bringing in more international students will enrich the graduate program, Worger said. He wants to get the University the recognition it deserves because there are many talented faculty members and students, Worger said. Worger studied as a history graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, an experience he said changed his perspective on learning. “It excited me to get to look at things in a new way that no one else had discovered,” Worger said.Often in high school, history is a road of learning facts, Worger said. But when a student reaches graduate school it is totally different — one has the opportunity to discover their own interests. After growing up in New Zealand, Worger left the country for the first time when he came to the U. S. to study at Yale University. “Most New Zealanders go to England,” Worger said. “I came to the United States because of my strong interest in African history.” The leading historian of African history at the time taught at Yale, Worger said. He applied only to Yale and if he had not been accepted, he would have studied in England. After graduating with his doctorate in history, Worger began his teaching career at Dalhousie University in Canada. He also taught history at Stanford University and the University of Michigan. When students leave his class and discover their own ideas, “That’s the part that most excites me about teaching,” Worger said. When he described the work he accomplished in the UCLA graduate program, his voice got excited. Worger along with other faculty members worked to create a Bill of Rights for graduate students, which included housing policies for the students. He received the James LuValle Distinguished Service Award for his work at UCLA, an award given to someone who served the needs of graduate students above and beyond what is expected. “We are all scholars,” Worger said about his work. “Just at different places on the path.” William Cooper, Boyd Professor who chaired the search committee, said the search to find a new dean began in early spring.The committee began going through applications and narrowing down the list, Cooper said. After the committee agrees the candidates are qualified, the list is submitted to the provost for a final decision, Cooper said.Worger has a strong scholarly record in working with graduate students, and has influential administrative experience at UCLA where he was assistant dean, Cooper said. “I am looking forward to meeting as many graduate students as I can when I get to campus,” Worger said.—-Contact Joy Lukachick at jlukachick@lsureveille.com