Oct 9, 2020

Dear colleagues,

Richard Arum, dean and professor, School of Education and by courtesy professor of sociology and criminology, law and society, has decided to return to the faculty at the conclusion of his term as dean in June 2021. An internationally known expert on education, social stratification and digital education, Dean Arum plans to focus on research to improve undergraduate and K-12 education.

Among the many highlights during his deanship since 2016, includes launching the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project which focuses on the generation of improved information to support institutional improvement efforts. The School also increased active grants from $46.1 to $96.6 million and increased in the U.S. News and World Report rankings four positions to become a top 10 public school of education.

Under his leadership, the School expanded partnerships with the UCI undergraduate program and the local Orange County community to improve educational access, opportunity and equity. With seed funding from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, the School established a Teacher Academy to support Orange County K-12 teacher professional development. With local donor support, the Orange County Educational Advancement Network was developed and is currently embedding 15 full-time doctoral student researchers with faculty oversight in 12 local schools to engage in research practice partnerships. The integration of the Center for Educational Partnerships has further enhanced UCI’s ability to expand educational access and opportunity in low-income communities.

During his tenure, the School enhanced inclusive excellence by increasing underrepresented minority (URM) faculty to 32% from 10%, increasing URM graduate students to 30% from 17% and establishing the associate dean of faculty development and diversity position as well as a school-wide Climate Council.

Prior to UCI, Dean Arum held a range of academic, research and administrative leadership roles at New York University and served on the faculty at University of Arizona. He was senior fellow of U.S. Programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2013-15. From 2006-13, he served as director of the Education Research Program at the Social Science Research Council, where he developed a research consortium designed to conduct ongoing evaluation of New York City public schools.

A national search for the next dean, and associated conversations with the faculty, will begin soon. Please join me in recognizing Dean Arum for his service and contributions to UCI and the School of Education.

Sincerely,

Hal S. Stern, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Chancellor’s Professor, Department of Statistics