Dr. Gale Morrison at the 2012 Graduate Division Commencement ceremony in June. Credit: Patricia MarroquinDr. Gale Morrison, former Dean of the Graduate Division who retired from the post in June 2012, will be returning to UCSB to serve as Acting Dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.
As the GradPost reported in November, Gevirtz Dean Dr. Jane Close Conoley was selected to serve as Acting Chancellor of UC Riverside, effective December 31, while the Riverside campus conducts a national search for its next chancellor. Dr. Morrison, who served UC Santa Barbara for more than three decades and the graduate community specifically for more than seven years, will begin her role as Acting Dean of Gevirtz effective January 1, 2013. This is not a new role for Dr. Morrison, who served as Acting Dean of Gevirtz for a year and a half before moving to the Graduate Division.
“I am honored to serve as acting dean for the Gevirtz School of Education during Dean Conoley’s absence,” Dr. Morrison told 93106, an online publication for UCSB faculty and staff. “The Gevirtz School holds a special place in my heart, as it is where I began my academic career. I am happy to help support the many ongoing initiatives of the School and look forward to my time with faculty, students, staff, and friends of the School.”
Dr. Jane Close ConoleyDr. Conoley told 93106: “The faculty of the Gevirtz School are, I am sure, thrilled as I am that Dean Morrison has agreed to be interim dean until my return from UC Riverside. Her experience with the school and UCSB promises to accelerate the school’s progress across all our missions: research excellence, instruction for professional leadership, and influential community engagement. I am delighted.”
The following is a message distributed to the campus community by UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang:
December 18, 2012
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
It is my great pleasure to announce that former Graduate Division Dean Gale Morrison has graciously agreed to serve as the acting dean of our Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, effective January 1, 2013. This appointment follows extensive consultation, and I would like to thank GGSE Dean Jane Conoley, EVC Gene Lucas, our Academic Senate, and our administrative and faculty colleagues who provided input and advice.
As I wrote in my campus memo of November 20, Dean Conoley will be serving as the acting chancellor of UC Riverside while the Riverside campus conducts a national search for their next chancellor. We wish her well in this exciting endeavor, and we are grateful for Dr. Morrison's willingness to provide interim leadership during Dean Conoley's leave of absence.
Prior to her retirement in June of 2012, Dr. Morrison served as the dean of our Graduate Division for more than seven years, and prior to that as the acting dean of our Gevirtz Graduate School of Education for a year and a half. She is a professor emeritus of education in the Counseling/Clinical/School Psychology Program of our Gevirtz School.
Dr. Morrison has contributed to our campus in countless ways over the years, including serving as chair of the UCSB Academic Senate Graduate Council and the UC NSF AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate) Steering Committee, as co-chair of the UCSB Committee on Excellence in Graduate Education in preparation for WASC re-accreditation, and as a member of the UC Student Health Committee, the UC Academic Senate Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs, and the Council of Graduate Schools Government Relations Advisory Committee.
Please join me in thanking Professor Morrison for her willingness to return to our campus in order to help our Gevirtz School during this interim period. We appreciate Gale's leadership, her dedication to our campus, and the wisdom and experience she brings to this important role.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor