Appointment of Christina Christie as Interim Dean, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

To: Administrative Officers, Deans, Department Chairs, Directors, Faculty and Staff in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, Vice Chancellors, and Vice Provosts

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that Professor Christina (Tina) Christie, who currently serves as chair of the Department of Education at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, has agreed to serve as interim dean of the school. She will begin her term July 1, 2020.

Tina joined the faculty of UCLA in 2010 as an associate professor of social research methodology in the Department of Education. A scholar of program and policy evaluation, Tina focuses her research on understanding evaluation as a method for facilitating social change. She has served as a lead investigator on more than 30 grants and contracts totaling approximately $33 million to study education, child maltreatment, and health behavior programs. She is the former director of the UC Educational Evaluation Center, which has sites at seven UC campuses, and currently serves as co-investigator on the National Institutes of Health Diversity Program Consortium’s Coordination and Evaluation Center. She has been recognized with distinguished career awards by two leading associations, as the recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s 2018 Research on Evaluation Special Interest Group Distinguished Scholar Award and the American Evaluation Association’s 2019 Research on Evaluation Distinguished Scholar Award.

During Tina’s tenure as chair, the UCLA Department of Education has been consistently ranked the No. 1 department of education among public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Under her leadership, the Department of Education established a bachelor’s of arts program in education and social transformation; developed the curriculum for a new master’s in education program in transformative coaching and leadership; and hosted professional development programs for educators around the globe. Her efforts to build a strong department community earned her the UCLA Staff Assembly’s 2018 Faculty/Staff Partnership Award. Tina teaches Ph.D., Ed.D., M.A., M.Ed., and undergraduate students and has chaired or co-chaired more than 40 dissertations since joining the UCLA faculty.

Tina earned her Ph.D. from UCLA; her M.A. and M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University; and her B.A. from the State University of New York.

Chancellor Block and I appreciate Tina’s willingness to serve as interim dean, and we have every confidence in her ability to provide strong leadership and continuity for the school. I anticipate forming a search committee shortly to identify candidates for a permanent dean, and I will keep you informed as we begin that search process.

Sincerely,

Emily A. Carter
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost