October 31, 2019
Dear University of Oregon Faculty Members,
Janet joins the Office of the Provost leadership team where she will lead the academic and faculty affairs efforts. She will oversee the work that promotes and advances provost office responsibilities involving curricular matters, academic training, professional development, online and hybrid education, and employee and labor relations matters.
After a national search, she became dean and vice provost of the UO Graduate School in August 2018, where she made an immediate impact. Janet improved the processes of how her team interfaces with and supports graduate programs within the schools and colleges. She has advanced a number of initiatives in the Graduate School, including development of best practices in graduate recruitment and admissions, professional development, data-informed decision-making, and university graduate education policies. She helped grow the focus on diversity and inclusion across graduate programs, and spurred the creation of innovative program development. She also served as a member of the UO team for bargaining with GTFF.
In Janet, we have someone who has an exemplary track record of scholarly work in developmental psychopathology, has distinguished leadership experience in higher education, and has an understanding of how to support faculty and advance academic excellence. She came to UO from the University of Louisville where she was professor of psychological and brain sciences, associate dean of graduate education in Louisville’s College of Arts and Sciences, and director of graduate studies for the institution’s clinical psychology doctoral program. Her work, both at UO and the University of Louisville, has provided her with an institutional-level perspective that will be a considerable asset to the provost leadership team.
I look forward to working with Janet in this role and she will begin on November 12.
In order to ensure a smooth leadership transition at the Graduate School, I have appointed Professor Kate Mondloch of the College of Design to serve as interim dean and vice provost. Kate is head of the College of Design’s history of art and architecture department, and has been at UO since 2005. She has deep experience with graduate program development and administration at UO. She managed the revitalization of the art history PhD program and oversaw the administrative transfer of the interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies into her unit. She was the founding director of the transdisciplinary graduate certificate in New Media and Culture, from 2013-2017. Prior to that, she served as director of graduate studies for six years. Kate starts November 12 at the Graduate School but will transition from the rest of her current duties by the end of fall term.
I will be consulting my leadership team, the schools and colleges, and other stakeholders over the next few months to determine how and when we will conduct a search to fill the Graduate School dean and vice provost position permanently.
Finally, I’d like to thank the nine-member search committee, led by Chair Liska Chan, for helping with this process. The committee included members of the faculty, staff, academic leadership, and the University Senate.
Please join me in congratulating both Janet and Kate.
Patrick Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President