| June 7,
2001– (Lexington, Ky.) – While the search for the next dean of
the College of Education continues, a familiar face has been called to fill the role of
interim dean this fall. Ed Sagan, former dean, has accepted an offer to come out of
retirement and serve the university once more. He begins his appointment officially on
July 1. Sagan served as dean of the College of
Education from 1982 to 1990. Many faculty members and alumni remember his leadership
through a difficult decade. Despite a growing national trend in the eighties to reduce or
even eliminate schools of education from many well-known universities, Sagan managed to
keep all of the departments under the college’s scope intact. Facing budgetary
cutbacks and faculty reductions, Sagan believed it was important that the college
maintained all its undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Despite these difficult
circumstances, Sagan worked with faculty to see that programs continued to grow and
flourish.
During his tenure as dean, the college
of education faculty:
¨ Redesigned the college’s Ed.D.
programs.
¨ Merged the departments of Higher
Education and Social and Philosophical Studies to form the Educational Policy Studies and
Evaluation department.
¨ Designed and implemented the Middle
School teacher education program
¨ Installed the college’s first
three computer labs.
¨ Assisted the Kentucky Department of
Education to establish the Beginning Teacher Internship Program.
This is only a short list of the
college’s accomplishments during Sagan’s administrative tenure.
The role of interim dean is not a new
one for Sagan. In 1996, he accepted appointment as acting dean of the College of Social
Work, a position he held for two years.
Compared with all Sagan had to contend
with during his first term as dean at the college of education, the prospect of returning
as interim dean has some appeal. “My return as acting dean is motivated by a
career-long interest in college and university administration,” commented Sagan.
Given the nature of an interim appointment, Sagan approaches the fall semester without a
predetermined agenda. He plans to address the high priority needs identified by the
college’s faculty and staff.
This interim position will serve as a
leadership bridge to allow for a seamless transition between Dean Shirley Raines and the
new dean when they come on the job. The search committee expects to recommend a new dean
before the end of the fall 2001 semester.
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