University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore has named Katherine Schultz dean of the School of Education effective Aug. 1, 2016. Schultz succeeds Lorrie Shepard, who is returning to the faculty as a distinguished professor after 15 years as dean.
Schultz presently serves as professor and dean of the School of Education at Mills College, a liberal arts and sciences college in Oakland, California.
“Kathy Schultz brings a spirit of creativity and an exciting vision for the School of Education at CU Boulder,” Moore said. “Dean Schultz is uniquely suited to build upon the significant successes of her predecessor, Dean Lorrie Shepard, and she will be a strong addition to our campus leadership team.”
Schultz received her doctoral and master’s degrees in reading, writing and literacy from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Schultz also has a master’s degree in elementary education from Lesley College and a bachelor’s degree in environmental education from Yale University.
“I am looking forward to working closely with the faculty and staff in the CU-Boulder School of Education to address the most pressing issues in public education that face us as a nation,” Schultz said. “The incredible quality of the faculty, staff and students, their collaborative spirit and commitment to equity and access assure me that together we will be able to build research and programs that will make a difference in underserved communities.”
She was formerly a professor at the University of Delaware and at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where she served as director for the teacher education program, the Center for Collaborative Research and Practice in Teacher Education and the Philadelphia Writing Project.
Her professional interests include urban teacher education, pedagogical practice and teacher learning, international teacher professional development and adolescent literacy in and out of school.
Shepard announced her retirement in June 2015, at which point a national search was launched for her replacement. She plans to remain at the university as a professor of research and evaluation methodology. In doing so, Shepard will add to the 41 years she has already served CU-Boulder, first as a faculty member and then as chair of the Research and Evaluation Methodology Ph.D. program and director of graduate studies in the School of Education. She has been in her current role as dean since 2001.
The CU-Boulder School of Education is a nationally recognized leader in education research with the school ranking at the 95th percentile of scholarly productivity by faculty among colleges and schools of education nationwide.
Contact:
Julie Poppen, CU-Boulder media relations, (O) 303-492-4007, (M) 720-503-4922
julie.poppen@colorado.edu
Hannah Fletcher, School of Education, 303-492-9019
hannah.fletcher@colorado.edu
