Dr. Mark Salisbury has decided to step down as dean of the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling (CELC) at the end of this academic year. Following a sabbatical, he will return to the faculty as a professor in the Organization Learning and Development Department in CELC.
Dr. Joseph Kreitzer, vice provost for faculty, will serve as interim dean of CELC, effective June 1.
Salisbury has served as dean of CELC since 2013. Before he joined St. Thomas, Salisbury served in several positions at the University of New Mexico from 1996 to 2013, including professor and the director of the Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology program.
“I want to thank Dr. Salisbury for his service as dean of the College of Education Leadership and Counseling over the past two years,” said Dr. Richard Plumb, provost and executive vice president. “Mark has embraced diversity, community and strategic partnerships, and flexible pathways for the adult learner. He has championed technology in the classroom and collaboration with business partners. We are grateful for his contributions.”
Kreitzer came to the College of St. Thomas in 1981 as a member of the Economics Department faculty. Over the next 20 years, he was promoted to full professor in 1997, served as the department chair from 1997 to 2000 and was active in numerous faculty and university governance committees.
In 2001, Ralph Pearson, vice president for academic affairs, asked Kreitzer to join the Office of Academic Affairs as an associate vice president, primarily responsible for oversight of the academic finances. He has a Ph.D. and a M.A., both in economics, from the University of Iowa and a B.A. in business and economics from the University of South Dakota.
During the last 14 years, Kreitzer’s responsibilities grew to include oversight of most faculty matters. Last fall, Plumb promoted Kreitzer to the title of vice provost for faculty affairs with a re-envisioned primary role of providing support for all faculty matters.
CELC has the largest number of graduate students at St. Thomas with 1,262 students pursuing master’s, education specialist and doctoral degrees. The college includes the Graduate School of Professional Psychology and the School of Education, with its departments of Leadership, Policy and Education; Organization Learning and Development; Special Education; and Teacher Education. The college is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the American Psychological Association.
