Of all the ways a dean can leave his or her mark, perhaps none is more powerful than making faculty appointments. By that measure, Richard Shavelson has had a deep impact at the School of Education in his five years on the job. By filling 11 vacancies and hiring seven professors for new slots, he has helped select more than 40 percent of the school's 44-member faculty.
Shavelson, who announced in September that he'll step down as dean on August 31, 2000, says he's proud of the professors he's named. "In the long run, the strength of the University is in the recruiting of outstanding faculty," he says. "Administrators come and go, and students come and go, but faculty is the backbone." Provost John Hennessy credits Shavelson with bringing more racial and gender diversity to the Education School. Fifty-five percent of Shavelson's faculty hires are women, and 28 percent are minorities.
Shavelson, PhD '71, has been leading educational enterprises for almost two decades. He took the helm of the Education School in January 1995 after seven years as dean of the graduate school of education at UC-Santa Barbara and five years as an administrator at the Rand Corporation. Now he says he wants to return to research and spend more time with his family. "This decision was motivated neither by [University President] Gerhard Casper's similar announcement nor by the unpredictable record of Stanford's football team," Shavelson says. "I'm ready for a change."
Besides hiring faculty, Shavelson's accomplishments include creating a successful master's program in learning design and technology, and improving Stanford's teacher education program. He also has a strong record of raising money for the school. Annual contributions ran in the $10 million range during his tenure.
With 10 months remaining as dean, Shavelson promises to press ahead on several initiatives. One priority: exploring the possibility of adding elementary-teacher training to the school's offerings (Stanford currently prepares only secondary school teachers).
After he steps down, Shavelson plans to spend a year as a fellow at Stanford's Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences before returning to the School of Education to teach and do research. Casper will appoint a search committee for a new dean, and Hennessy will oversee the nationwide effort, which begins this fall.
