Dr. Gale Morrison, dean of the Graduate Division and a champion for UCSB’s graduate student community for many years, has announced her retirement, to begin in late June.
Dr. Morrison has served the university for more than three decades and the graduate community specifically for more than seven years. "It has been my honor and pleasure to lead the Graduate Division at UCSB, where our 3,000 graduate students have been instrumental in furthering the campus’s reputation as a world-class university," Dr. Morrison told the GradPost.
"I have been provided a wo
nderful opportunity to serve this campus and graduate education. I will miss so many graduate students, staff, faculty and colleagues in administration, but am planning on enjoying many new adventures as I move into this next phase of my life," she continued.
"In the meantime, I look forward to the celebrations of graduate students that will occur during the upcoming Graduate Student Appreciation Week and Graduate Division Commencement, which are special opportunities to celebrate the accomplishments and hard work of our graduate students."
Chancellor Henry T. Yang announced Dr. Morrison’s retirement to the campus community in the following email:
"After more than seven years of superb leadership of our Graduate Division, Dean Gale Morrison has decided to retire, effective June 29, 2012. I am honored to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Morrison for her many contributions to our campus community.
Dean Morrison has worked tirelessly to enhance the excellence and diversity of our graduate programs across the disciplines, and to ensure that our graduate students receive the best possible education within a supportive and caring campus environment. For example, during Dr. Morrison's tenure, our Graduate Division and Student Affairs established the Graduate Student Support Network, a committee of key service providers for graduate students, which now serves as a steering committee for the development of professional and career development opportunities and programs for graduate students. In collaboration with the Graduate Council, Dr. Morrison has contributed to key policy and practice improvements, including parenting accommodation policies, time-to-degree clarifications, and graduate support distribution practices. The Graduate Division has launched technological advances in the graduate application and review system, faculty online fellowship review, and online dissertation filing. In 2006, our Graduate Students Association honored her with the GSA Dixon-Levy Service Award, in recognition of "exceptional commitment and service to the graduate student community."
Dean Morrison coordinated our campus's response to the National Research Council for its 2010 assessment of graduate doctoral programs. We are very proud that in this assessment, nearly a third of UCSB's doctoral programs ranked in the range of the top five in the nation, and more than two-thirds in the range of the top 20. Dr. Morrison has continued to work toward providing key campus leaders and faculty with graduate student outcome data, in order to continuously evaluate and improve graduate programs.
Dr. Morrison has contributed to our campus in countless ways since she first joined our faculty in 1980. She is a highly respected Professor of Education in the Counseling/Clinical/School Psychology Program of our Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, where her area of expertise includes exploring risk and resilience in children with learning and behavioral challenges. She served as Acting Dean of our Gevirtz Graduate School of Education from 2005 to 2006, as Chair of the UCSB Academic Senate Graduate Council from 2000 to 2002, as Chair of the UC NSF AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate) Steering Committee from 2007 to 2008, as a member of the UC Student Health Committee in 2006, and as a member of the UC Academic Senate Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs from 2002 to 2004. She currently serves on the Council of Graduate Schools Government Relations Advisory Committee, and is co-chairing the UCSB Committee on Excellence in Graduate Education in preparation for WASC re-accreditation.
Please join me in extending our warmest thanks and congratulations to Gale. We wish her all the best as she looks forward to this exciting next chapter in her life."