Dear Colleagues,

After a national search and thorough evaluation of exceptional candidates, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Bryan Porter has been selected as UWM’s next Graduate School Dean. This important leadership role will focus on providing visionary leadership and advocate for graduate education, champion graduate student success, ensure academic excellence, program quality and lead strategic planning and resource development along with UWM’s 2030 Action Plan (see position description). Dr. Porter will begin his position on June 2, and I am eager to welcome him to the UWM leadership team.

Dr. Bryan Porter joins us from Old Dominion University in Virginia. Since 2016 he has served as associate dean of the graduate school and professor of psychology. Most of his administrative career has focused on graduate education, from being a graduate program director for psychology until his work as associate dean to build the graduate school as a separate college launched in 2016. He is active in activities promoted by the Council of Graduate Schools, Conference of Southern Graduate Schools, and the Virginia Council of Graduate Schools. Traffic psychology is the major focus of his publications and overall scholarship. He is president of Division 13 (Traffic and Transportation Psychology) for the International Association of Applied Psychology. He is past co-editor-in-chief of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour and editor of the Handbook of Traffic Psychology. Porter, as principal investigator, co-principal investigator, or research mentor, has received more than $7 million in grants, mostly for research and evaluation activities in traffic psychology. His graduate students have gone on to careers in academia, government, and industry.

I wish to thank the Search Committee, chaired by Professor Pennie Kako, for their service to the university and for producing a strong pool of candidates. I also extend my gratitude to Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Canan Bilen-Green and the many individuals she collaborated with—including colleagues from Human Resources, the Office of the Secretary of the University, the Office of the Provost, the Graduate School, and the search consultants, Academic Search—for managing various elements of the search process.

Lastly, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Kris O’Connor, interim Graduate School Dean and Vice Provost for Research, for his leadership during this transitional period. His dedication to UWM and thoughtful contributions have been invaluable in ensuring continuity and preparing a foundation for this important transition. As UWM, like other higher education institutions, navigates significant challenges, Dr. O’Connor continues to be instrumental in protecting our research and graduate education missions.

The Graduate School Dean role is vital to our mission and advancing graduate education at UWM. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Porter on this well-deserved appointment. I look forward to his contributions as we continue to advance UWM’s Graduate School and community impact.

With appreciation,

Andrew P. Daire, PhD
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2310 E. Hartford Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211