Provost Juan Poblete lives with his family at Kresge College, where he oversees Kresge's academic life, supporting Kresge's academic vision, and academic advising, and developing Kresge's college-sponsored courses. Provost Poblete is a professor of Latin American and Latino Literature and Cultural Studies. He works on issues of transnational/global cultures (literature, radio, film); 19th-century studies; and the history of reading practices.

At Kresge, Provost Poblete focuses on creating and supporting events and courses that complement UCSC's rigorous academic programs, usually with a more hands-on approach that centers on community-oriented learning, sustainability, and nonviolent social change.

• With courses in sustainable food systems and labs and internships in the Kresge Garden, students get hands-on gardening experience while learning about food production both locally and globally.
• Students in Kresge's Service Learning class give back to the Santa Cruz community, earning college credit while working with local nonprofit organizations and elementary schools.
• Transformative Action inspires students to create nonviolent social change through community-oriented projects based on a curriculum that combines nonviolence and psychology, sustainability, and social justice.
• Other courses Kresge has offered in the recent past include Social Documentary Photography, Imagining Utopia (a writing course), The Art of Comedy, and Food Memoir.
• Kresge also hosts the Writers House residential program and its own Writing Center.

Kresge has been long associated with the Literature Department and the Creative Writing concentration, the Feminist Studies Department, the Writing Program, and the Science Communication Program. As a college we welcome all students, with their wide-ranging interests and backgrounds. We hope that each new student will become an active participant in developing the academic community at Kresge.