Chancellor William J. McGill persuaded Dr. Joseph Watson to become the first operational provost of Third College during this very turbulent time in 1970. Provost Watson's term lasted eleven years as he then assumed a higher campus position as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Professor Faustina Solís then followed as the second college administrator and was also the university's first Latina provost. She served in that capacity from 1981 to 1988. Solís established public health coursework for undergraduates and medical students, following years of social work and health care for under-served populations. She was honored in 1990 when Thurgood Marshall Lecture Hall was renamed the Faustina F. Solís Hall.