New Dean for Graduate College of Education

By Leigh DuPuy

The Graduate College of Education (GCOE) will begin fall semester 2003 with a new dean - higher education specialist Lester F. Goodchild. Dr. Goodchild, who has been serving as both acting and interim dean of the College of Education for the University of Denver (DU), will begin his tenure at UMass Boston on August 18.

"I am really looking forward to working with the university, the college, and faculty in supporting UMass Boston's excellent programs and creating innovative new ones," Goodchild said in a recent phone interview. Goodchild is known for his commitment to developing and improving academic programs that focus on educational needs of urban communities. He was directly responsible for DU's three university-based schools and one K-5 charter school in partnership with Denver Public Schools and their 900 children. He successfully led the effort to develop those institutions as professional development schools.

He has worked for DU for 13 years, and as interim dean, was responsible for the College of Education's six graduate programs in curriculum and instruction, educational leadership and policy studies, higher education and adult studies, counseling psychology, educational psychology, and library and information science. At the university level, he established the Committee on the Advancement of Doctoral Programs and chaired the Distance Learning Task Force for five years.

Goodchild has also successfully led accreditation efforts at both the department and college levels. Most recently, in his capacity as interim dean, he coordinated all DU College of Education activities as part of the Higher Learning Commission's 2001 university-wide accreditation of DU.

In his administrative roles, Goodchild has had extensive experience in the recruitment of faculty, program assessment and development, doctoral student advisement, budgets, academic organizations, and cultivation and support for scholarship through grants and fundraising.

No stranger to urban universities, Goodchild taught at Iowa State University, where he became very familiar with land-grant mission and outreach to the state's citizens. "I'd liked to collaborate with the faculty in providing greater higher education opportunities and involving GCOE even further in public service to the city and state," he said.

He has developed a national view of higher education programs through serving as chair of the Council for Advancement of Higher Education Program, a standing committee of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, for three years. His impressive scholarship includes the presentation of 75 international, national, and local conference papers and publication of 47 past and forthcoming works.

He also has written four books, including, most recently, Public Policy and Higher Education. His editorial activities have been extensive, with assistant and associate editorships, three board memberships, and stints as a reviewer for six journals.

"Chancellor Gora and I are confident that Dr. Goodchild possesses the necessary vision, leadership skills, academic record, and commitment to education required to lead the Graduate College of Education and its fine faculty to meet successfully the many challenges we face," said Provost Paul Fonteyn. "We look forward with great enthusiasm to working with him."

Goodchild received a B.A. in sociology from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota), an M.A. in historical theology and comparative religions from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in higher education and adult education from the University of Chicago.

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