Appointment of Dr. Penny Bishop as Next Dean of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
From Dr. Gloria Waters, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
This past academic year, we undertook a national search for a new dean of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (Wheelock). We sought candidates with a record of distinguished scholarship, dynamic classroom and administrative leadership, and the strategic vision necessary to guide Wheelock’s continued emergence as a leader in educational policy, research, and practice. Following a competitive process that considered many exceptional candidates, President Gilliam and I are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Penny Bishop as dean of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, effective August 1.
A middle school and secondary school teacher by training, Dr. Bishop received her bachelor’s degree in English from Norwich University, a master’s in curriculum and instruction, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, both from the University of Vermont. She comes to Boston University from the University of Maine, where she has served as dean of the College of Education and Human Development and professor within the college’s School of Teaching and Learning since 2021. Prior to her service at the University of Maine, Dr. Bishop was a member of the University of Vermont faculty since 1998, where she was a professor of education and served as associate dean of their College of Education and Social Services from 2014-2020.
A nationally respected scholar and practitioner of middle and secondary school education, Dr. Bishop has published seven books – including 2021’s The Successful Middle School: This We Believe – on education reform, along with dozens of widely cited book chapters and articles in top peer-reviewed journals. Her research, which focuses on providing responsive learning environments for young adolescents, has garnered more than $13 million in external support from public and foundation sources. Dr. Bishop’s leadership and academic footprint have also been recognized beyond the classroom: She is former executive advisor to the Middle Grades Education Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association, co-director of the Middle Grades Collaborative, former chair of the Research Advisory Board of the Association for Middle Level Education, and co-editor of the Middle Grades Review. She was founding director of the University of Vermont’s Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education from 2009-2017.
While at Maine, Dr. Bishop has actively focused on issues of inclusion, working to diversify the college’s new faculty and staff hires and prioritizing the recruitment of students from historically underrepresented communities. She additionally partnered with the state’s Tribal communities, leading efforts to require a Teaching Wabanaki Studies course of all teacher candidates at the University of Maine – the first institution in the state to do so.
Dr. Bishop’s strong track record of strategic leadership, her impressive scholarly work, and her reputation as a gifted teacher and community builder are an ideal fit for the needs of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Dr. Bishop will officially begin her duties as dean on August 1 and hold a faculty appointment as professor of teaching and learning. I hope that you will join us in formally welcoming her to the BU community in the days ahead and in wishing her well in this leadership role. I look forward to working with her to continue to build on Wheelock’s strong momentum and further elevate its stature as one of the nation’s premier schools of teaching and educational research.
I would like to express gratitude to the members of the dean search advisory committee, listed below, for their excellent work and give special thanks to the search committee chair, College of Communication Dean Mariette DiChristina, for her leadership in a successful, collaborative search process. Finally, I would like to thank Dean ad interim Mary Churchill for her excellent leadership during the month of July and for her willingness to step into the role during this period of transition.
Search Advisory Committee for the Dean of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
Chair:
Mariette DiChristina, Dean, College of Communication (selected by the University Provost)
Members:
Kathleen Corriveau, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs; Professor of Applied Human Development, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (selected by the University Provost)
Stephanie Curenton, Professor of Teaching & Learning; Director, Center on the Ecology of Early Development, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (elected by the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development)
Ellen DeVoe, Professor of Clinical Practice; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Social Work (elected by the Faculty Council)
Joshua Goodman, Associate Professor of Education, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development; Associate Professor of Economics, College of Arts & Sciences (selected by the University Provost)
Jennifer Greif Green, Professor of Special Education, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (elected by the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development)
Kevin Lang, Laurence A. Bloom Professor of Economics, College of Arts & Sciences (selected by the University Provost)
Luise Pernar, Associate Professor of Surgery, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (elected by the Faculty Council)
Eleonora Villegas-Reimers, Clinical Professor and Chair of Teaching & Learning, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (elected by the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development)
Staff Liaison:
Gina Ford, Project Manager, Office of the Provost