Introduction
Since beginning my term as interim dean on June 15, 2023, I’ve had many conversations with faculty and staff of LMU School of Education, as well as with LMU’s leadership, about the opportunities and challenges facing the school today. I extend my sincerest appreciation to university leadership, the SOE Dean’s Cabinet and Leadership Council, and all SOE stakeholders for your open and transparent dialogue on these matters.
Throughout my years as an academic leader and administrator, I have learned three important things about effective organizations that I bring to all of my roles:
- Effective collaboration is only possible in an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual trust and respect.
- Aligning everyday actions with strategic priorities is critical to making progress.
- Key actions and decisions must always be made in a transparent manner, with input from the stakeholders who will be affected by them.
These precepts and our work together have led to the development of the Hierarchy of Strategic Priorities for SOE in 2023-2024, which are listed below. As with any organization I work with, the first priority is establishing a culture of collegiality and mutual trust and respect. This is the foundation upon which all future successes are built.
In pursuing our shared goals, I intend to make my efforts and the work of SOE’s Dean’s Cabinet, Leadership Council, and all stakeholders as explicit and transparent as possible. In this vein and for ease of access, this website also contains links to documentation such as past meeting minutes, messages from the dean’s office, and other communications (e.g., an archive of our faculty and staff newsletter).
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as interim dean of LMU School of Education. I hope you are as excited as I am about the vast opportunities that lie ahead of SOE in the years to come.
Kindest regards,
Roosevelt O. Shelton, Ph.D.
Interim Dean, LMU School of Education
Dean’s Strategic Priorities, 2023-2024
Priority 1: Trust, Respect, Collegiality, and the Fierce Urgency of Now
With words and actions, develop a climate of collegiality and respect among faculty and staff colleagues, with special attention between tenure-line and term faculty.
Priority 2: Development, Fiduciary Integrity, and Accountability
Assure a balanced budget; if cuts are required, ensure the process is fair and transparent.
Priority 3: Succession Planning
Lead the search for the Associate Dean for Faculty and DEI.
Priority 4: Leadership
Develop and implement a plan to strengthen SOE leadership below the Dean’s Office.
Priority 5: Transparency and Strategic Engagement
Develop, communicate, and implement strategies to ensure that important information is transmitted openly, accurately, honestly, effectively, and transparently, e.g., these nine strategic priorities.
Priority 6: Strategic Planning and Strategic Engagement
Lead the evaluation of SOE’s strategic plan for currency and develop a process to update the plan and begin implementation.
Priority 7: Development, Strategic Engagement, and Preparation Partnerships
Take the lead in discussions about time-sensitive potential partnerships with key local school districts to a successful conclusion.
Priority 8: Futures Planning
Assist in the search for the permanent Dean, where appropriate.
Priority 9: Futures Planning
Assist in the onboarding of the permanent Dean, where appropriate.
Documentation
The links below lead to folders on Box within the SOE School of Education Master Folder (LMU faculty/staff login required). These folders store critical communications and information about SOE that have been shared with full-time faculty and staff since June 15, 2023. The dean’s office endeavors to keep this information as up-to-date as possible.