Underwood named interim provost, Gamoran interim dean

Thursday, December 11, 2008 -

 Dean Julie Underwood
 

Patrick Farrell, who has served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since April 2006, will return to the College of Engineering faculty at the end of the fall 2008 semester.

Beginning in January, Dean Julie Underwood of the School of Education will serve as interim provost through the full course of the search process, which will begin soon.

Farrell, who was appointed provost by former Chancellor John D. Wiley, has a 25-year history of teaching, research and leadership in the College of Engineering, which he joined in 1982 as a member of the mechanical engineering faculty. Prior to joining the central UW-Madison administration, he served as the college’s associate dean for academic affairs and executive associate dean.

“Pat has provided the university with steady leadership over several years and with continuity during this semester,” says Chancellor Carolyn A. “Biddy” Martin. “He is a talented administrator and I am very grateful for his service to the campus.”

Underwood, a nationally recognized authority on school law, became the eighth dean of the School of Education in August 2005. She taught at UW-Madison 1986-95 as a faculty member of the Department of Educational Administration (now Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis).

She returned to Madison after serving as dean of Miami University’s School of Education and Allied Professions 1995-98 and as associate executive director and general counsel 1998-2005 for the National School Boards Association in Washington, D.C.

“I am grateful for Julie’s willingness to take on this interim role,” Martin says. “We will work together to ensure progress continues on current top priorities such as the budget, research infrastructure and the strategic framework.”

“I am honored that Chancellor Martin has asked me to serve campus in an interim capacity as provost. I am prepared to do my part to make her and the university successful,” says Underwood.

She adds, “I am convinced we have others in the School of Education who will step up during this interim period.”

Adam Gamoran, the school’s associate dean for research and director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), will serve as the school’s interim dean. Beth Graue, professor of curriculum and instruction and WCER’s director of graduate training, will serve as interim director of WCER.

During this period, Gamoran will work with Underwood to continue advancing the school’s current priorities, including reorganization of the school's outreach, partnerships and technology services, the renovation and addition of the Education Building on Bascom Hill, and planning for a new Art Building adjacent to the new Art Lofts facility near the Kohl Center.

Gamoran, a professor of sociology and educational policy studies, has directed WCER, one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most influential university-based education research and development centers, since 2004, and has been a WCER faculty associate since 1985. He chaired the sociology department 2001-2004, and was elected in 2001 to the prestigious National Academy of Education.

“As interim dean, I look forward to working with the faculty and staff of the School of Education to advance our strategic priorities and meet the challenges of the next several months,” Gamoran says.  “I am equally confident that Beth Graue will provide capable leadership for WCER, and that we will continue to work together towards our common goals.”

Graue, who joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1990, is an early childhood educator and research methodologist by training. Her research focuses on policy and practice in the early elementary grades. Her most recent project has explored the implementation of SAGE, Wisconsin’s class-size reduction program.

“I can think of few other people who could so ably take on the roles of provost and dean of the School of Education as Dean Julie Underwood and Adam Gamoran,” Graue says.  “I look forward to the chance to learn from the faculty and staff at WCER, one of the most valuable resources on campus.”

As chief academic officer, the provost helps steer long-term academic direction through close collaboration with the deans of UW-Madison's 12 schools and colleges. The provost also is responsible for faculty and staff development, diversity initiatives and enrollment management, and is the point person for shared governance. The provost also acts as chief executive officer of the university in the chancellor's absence.

Underwood says that she has no plans to be a candidate for the position.

“I love my position as dean of the School of Education,” she says. “I left my job in Washington, D.C., to serve the school, public education, and this university.”

One of Farrell’s priorities as provost was to develop a more strategic vision for the campus. To that end, Farrell managed the university’s two-year reaccreditation self-study initiative, which included input from thousands of people on and off campus, and the resulting work on a strategic framework for the university’s next decade.

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