Jane Close Conoley and Gale MorrisonProfessor Jane Close Conoley is returning on August 19 to her duties as Dean of UCSB’s Gevirtz School after serving for eight months as Acting Chancellor of UC Riverside. UC President Mark Yudof praised Conoley for her “outstanding service,” and UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang noted in welcoming her back that “she brings with her valuable insights and perspective gained from her time at our sister campus.”
Dr. Conoley was selected by the UC Board of Regents in November 2012 to assume the interim role at UC Riverside while a national search was conducted for UCR’s next chancellor. In her absence, Dr. Gale Morrison served as Acting Dean of Gevirtz. Dr. Morrison, former Graduate Division Dean, had retired in June 2012.
Last week, President Yudof announced that he had selected Kim A. Wilcox, former Michigan State University Provost and Executive Vice President, as the ninth chancellor of UC Riverside.
Conoley returns to a graduate school that in March of this year took the No. 40 spot on U.S. News & World Report’s listing of best education graduate programs nationwide. The Gevirtz School was No. 29 on U.S. News’ list among public universities.
“I have had a great learning experience as interim chancellor at UCR, but am pleased that we were able to accomplish a successful search for a permanent chancellor in just seven months,” Conoley said in a Gevirtz news release. “I look forward to resuming my UCSB work together with the faculty, students, and staff at the Gevirtz School.”
In thanking her for her service, Yudof said: “Jane Conoley has been a superb dean, and her outstanding service as interim Chancellor at Riverside has deepened her leadership skills and expertise. I join the Chancellor, faculty, staff, and students at Santa Barbara in wishing her the best as she resumes her duties at UCSB.”
In a UC Riverside Tweet, the university praised Conoley for doing “a remarkable job” and expressed gratitude that UCSB “shared” Conoley with its campus.
For more information, read the Gevirtz press release.
Also, read our previous articles:
Gevirtz Dean Conoley Named Acting Chancellor of UC Riverside
Dr. Gale Morrison to Return to UCSB as Acting Dean of Gevirtz Graduate School of Education