Dear Graduate School of Education Community,
I am writing to let you know that Prudence Carter has decided to step down as the Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the end of her current five-year term on June 30, 2021. I have great admiration for Prudence’s able leadership of the GSE -- she has led the school in focusing its teaching and research efforts; successfully recruited of a number of dynamic junior faculty; secured several significant grants and gifts; and capably managed the transition of the school into its new home in the Berkeley Way West building. She has also rendered extraordinary service to campus, serving as the co-chair of the Free Speech Commission as well as chairing the searches for the Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion and the Dean of the School of Social Welfare. You can read Prudence’s personal announcement on the GSE website
In the next 15 months, Prudence will continue to lead the Graduate School of Education as important work on several key initiatives moves forward. Among these, she will partner with the School of Public Health, School of Social Welfare, and the Department of Psychology to advance work on building a strong early childhood and learning development initiative on campus, as well as a master’s level program to train the next generation of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in this area. She will also continue to cultivate cross-disciplinary partnerships with various STEM divisions to amplify the critical nature of educational research and practicein the development of data sciences and artificial intelligence. Under Prudence’s leadership, the GSE established a research-practice-partnership (RPP) with Oakland Unified School District and other school districts, and she will work hard to anchor this relationship across the multiple academic units and Berkeley faculty already connected to the RPP. To support all of these initiatives, Prudence will continue to steer the GSE towards its campaign fundraising goal, which prioritizes funding for graduate student fellowships, new faculty positions, and research.
I realize that this leadership announcement comes at a time when we are facing an extraordinary public health crisis that impacts all of us in many different ways. Please be assured that the Chancellor and I are committed to the success of the GSE and stand ready to do what we can to ensure continuity of strong leadership for the school. This spring, Vice Provost for the Faculty Ben Hermalin and I will host meetings with GSE faculty and the larger GSE community to provide information about the search for the school’s next dean. You will also have an opportunity to nominate faculty, students, and staff to be search committee members. Although search timelines often do change, we will aim to post the dean position by early summer, conduct interviews in fall, and announce the new dean in spring 2021 for a July 1, 2021, start date.
Finally, I would also like to draw your attention to ourdean searches FAQ document, which, we hope, anticipates and answers many of your questions about the process. If you have other questions about the search, feel free to reach out to Dana Jantz, our dean search coordinator, at jantz@berkeley.edu
Please join me in thanking Prudence for her skillful leadership of the GSE and her substantial service to Berkeley.
Sincerely,
A. Paul Alivisatos
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost