April 29, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the next dean of the College of Education and Human Development will be Gary T. Henry, who is nationally recognized for his work as an education policy scholar with an extensive background in establishing educational partnerships to improve pre-K and K-12 school performance. He will assume his new role Aug. 16.

Dr. Henry currently serves as the Patricia and H. Rodes Hart Chair, professor of public policy and education, and director of graduate studies in the Department of Leadership Policy and Organizations at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. He also currently leads the Tennessee Education Research Alliance initiative that is evaluating the reforms designed to improve the lowest performing schools in the state.

His career has also included appointments at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Georgia State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Virginia Commonwealth University, and he has served as a visiting professor at institutions around the world.

We are confident that Dr. Henry possesses the perfect blend of scholarship and leadership to lead our College of Education and Human Development.

Dr. Henry will have a strong foundation on which to build thanks to the excellent leadership of Dean Carol Vukelich, who is stepping down as dean and returning to the faculty for the fall semester, before retiring from the University. During her tenure, she has been a champion of study abroad programs, expanding opportunities for our faculty and students to learn and teach abroad. She has helped build partnerships with schools and universities around the world, from Greece and Spain to the Cayman Islands and China.

She has championed the recruitment, development and retention of innovative faculty members and students, including the establishment of the Dean’s Scholars Program to attract highly qualified Ph.D. students. Dr. Vukelich’s efforts to identify new funding opportunities for her initiatives have resulted in grants to initiate the Teachers for Tomorrow high school pipeline project and the Khabrat Program, in coordination with the English Language Institute, to bring Saudi teachers to campus.

In addition, during her tenure as dean, the college has added three online master’s degree programs, a master’s degree in early childhood and an associate in arts degree at the Wilmington campus. Recently, the college initiated a joint program with Hunan University in China to expand the master’s degree in teaching English as a second language. Her encouragement of changes to the curriculum has enabled more students to participate in the World Scholars programs and others to “finish in four.”

We are very grateful for all that Dr. Vukelich has accomplished, and we’re very pleased that the University will continue to benefit from her experience and insights as a faculty member. Our thanks also go to all those who participated in the search process. We greatly appreciate your time and energy that helped us to fill this important leadership position.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Henry and thanking Dr. Vukelich.

Sincerely,

Dennis Assanis President

Robin Morgan Provost