By SUSAN JONES
A search committee has been formed to find Pitt’s next dean of the School of Education.
The committee is co-chaired by Betsy Farmer, dean of the School of Social Work, and Lu-in Wang, vice provost for faculty affairs. It includes faculty, administrators, staff and students.
Valerie Kinloch, who had been dean of the school since July 2017, left this summer to become president of her alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. Eboni Zamani-Gallaher has been serving as interim dean since Kinloch’s departure.
The committee will hold an open forum to allow members of the community to provide input into the search process at 3 p.m. Dec. 8 via Zoom. Visit the University Events Calendar to access the Zoom link for the forum.
Pitt community members and friends also can share thoughts and feedback regarding the next dean through a Community Survey.
Other dean searches
Swanson School of Engineering: The search is ongoing for the next engineering dean. An open forum was held in October, led by search committee co-chairs Steve Wisniewski, vice provost for budget and analytics, and Adam Leibovich, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences dean. The goal is to have a permanent dean in place by July 2024. In August 2022, James Martin moved from dean to vice chancellor for STEM research and innovation in the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research. Since then, Sanjeev Shroff, former chair of the Department of Bioengineering, has been serving as interim dean.
School of Law: Amy Wildermuth stepped down as dean in January. Professor and former dean Mary Crossley is currently serving as interim dean. A search committee has not been formed yet.
Chancellor Joan Gabel has said that the goal is to have the next provost involved in evaluating the dean candidates for the schools of Education, Engineering and Law. The search for a new provost — to replace Ann Cudd who left at the end of June — is underway. Gabel said last month that the process is now in a “very quiet period” while search consultants identify candidates and seek nominations.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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