Rob Clark, provost and senior vice president for research, has announced the appointment of a University committee to begin a national search for the next dean of the Warner School of Education.
The search committee will be chaired by Wendi Heinzelman, a professor and dean of the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Members include:
- Pamela Black-Colton, executive director of admissions and student services at Warner;
- Brian Brent, acting dean, senior associate dean for graduate studies, and the Earl B. Taylor Professor at Warner;
- Cindy Callard, a professor (clinical) at Warner and executive director of the Center for Professional Development & Education Reform;
- Jeffrey Choppin, a professor and chair of teaching and curriculum at Warner;
- Mary Jane Curry, an associate professor of teaching and curriculum at Warner;
- Karen DeAngelis, an associate professor of educational leadership and associate dean for academic programs at Warner;
- Eric Fredericksen, an associate professor (clinical) and associate director at the Center for Learning in the Digital Age at Warner, and associate vice president for online learning;
- Holly Manaseri, an associate professor (clinical) and chair of educational leadership at Warner;
- Andre Marquis, an associate professor of counseling and human development;
- Scott McGuinness, a visiting instructor in counseling and human development, and a PhD candidate in counseling and counselor education;
- Shaun Nelms, an associate professor (clinical) at Warner, superintendent of East High EPO, and the William & Sheila Konar Director at the Center for Urban Education Success;
- Bonnie Rubenstein, a professor (clinical) and chair of counseling and human development at Warner, and director of the Urban Teaching and Leadership Program.
The nationally recognized leadership search firm WittKieffer will work with the University committee during the process of identifying potential candidates. The committee will be staffed by Tony Green, deputy to the provost.
Details about the search can be found at the Warner School.
Clark said the goal of the search is to have a new dean appointed and in office by the start of the next academic year in fall 2020.
“Over the past decade, the Warner School has demonstrated tremendous leadership as an innovator, particularly in K–12, urban education, and educational engagement, building an impressive body of research and practice that is shaping the education of students at all levels,” Clark said. “I’m confident that the search committee will identify an outstanding academic leader who can further advance the work of Warner to prepare teachers and administrators to make a difference in the schools that need them the most.”
Since its formal establishment as a graduate school in 1958, Warner has been a leader in research, education, and community outreach. In the last 20 years, Warner has doubled in size of students and faculty, increasing its reputation nationally and internationally, while also making significant contributions to the community and area schools and organizations.
Most notably, the educational partnership with East High School, begun in 2015, has helped to transform the struggling school into one committed to student success. The graduation rate has improved from 33 percent to nearly 70 percent in four years, suspensions have been reduced from over 2,500 a year to under 500, and reading results for students who have participated in four years of literacy at East have risen from 16 percent at the basic level or above to 81 percent.
As the committee puts in place a process for the search, the group plans to update the University community on its work.
