Dear colleagues,  

I am pleased to announce Emily Tanner-Smith has been named interim dean of the College of Education, succeeding Laura Lee McIntyre, who is departing the University of Oregon to become provost of Michigan State University.

Tanner-Smith is a Thomson Professor in the Counseling Psychology and Human Services Department, a research scientist at the Prevention Science Institute, and serves as executive director of the HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice in the College of Education.

She was selected as an interim dean after a series of meetings with the COE community — faculty, staff, and leadership — to learn about the type of leader the college wanted to see appointed. Tanner-Smith is an applied research methodologist with expertise in meta-analysis and research synthesis for evidence-based decision making. Her scholarship focuses on the prevention and treatment of behavioral and mental health problems among youth, with emphasis on school-based interventions designed to promote student success and well-being. 

Tanner-Smith received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Belmont University and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Vanderbilt University.  

Since joining the UO faculty in 2017, she has held several leadership positions across campus, including associate director of the Prevention Science Institute, associate vice president for research in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, and associate dean of research in the College of Education. At Vanderbilt, she served as director of the Meta-Analysis Center at the Peabody Research Institute.  A national search for a new COE dean will commence in the fall. 

Please join me in thanking Emily for taking on this important responsibility. 

Sincerely, 

Christopher P. Long 
Provost and Senior Vice President