Provost Dana Dunn has announced her appointment of Dr. Randy Penfield to serve as the dean of the UNCG School of Education beginning in the 2016-17 academic year.

Penfield is the ninth named dean of the School of Education and the 16th individual appointed to lead the education division at UNCG.

“I am confident he will work collaboratively with faculty and staff and the university community to move the School of Education further along its trajectory of success and impact,” said Dunn.

Penfield has served as the interim dean of the School of Education (SOE) since July 1, 2015 and as the chair of the Department of Educational Research Methodology (ERM) since 2012.

“I am humbled and honored to lead the School of Education into its next era of excellence,” Penfield said after the announcement. “The School of Education is unique in that our work and training rest at the intersection of research, innovation, teaching, and practice, and our students are provided extraordinary experiential learning opportunities at each corner of this intersection.”

During his term as interim dean, Penfield has led several initiatives and collaborations related to marketing, student recruitment, and entrepreneurship. He provided leadership through the development of the SOE’s new website geared toward improved marketing of programs and toward enhanced student recruitment. He has also supported a range of other student recruitment efforts aimed at increasing enrollment across undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as alternative licensure programs for lateral entry into the teaching profession.

In addition, Penfield has spearheaded the planning phase of a new SOE-wide initiative aimed at supporting and facilitating innovative and entrepreneurial endeavors in the SOE.

Penfield has also begun taking steps to further strengthen the SOE’s relationship with surrounding school districts by leading the collaboration of the SOE and the SERVE Center aimed at supporting high-needs schools.

“Building on the rich history of the School of Education, I am eager to begin work on guiding us to new heights of positive impact on our community and the state of North Carolina,” Penfield concluded.

In his time as chair of the ERM department, he founded the Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Services (OAERS), which provides hands-on learning opportunities to students who work on funded data analysis and evaluation contracts while providing financial support to fund graduate students in the SOE.

He also established the Nonprofit Evaluation Support Program (NESP), which coordinates the delivery of program evaluation services to local nonprofit organizations by SOE graduate students such that the students gain valuable real-world learning experiences while providing critical support to vital community organizations.

A leading expert in the area of fairness in testing, Penfield received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto with a specialization in educational measurement and assessment. Before his arrival at UNCG, Penfield spent time on the faculty at the University of Florida and the University of Miami.