UNI names new dean of College of Education

The search is over.

    Dwight C. Watson has been named the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Watson will assume his duties on July 1.

    "Dr. Watson brings a strong background in academic leadership, and a strong commitment to education leadership and outreach in early childhood education through collegiate education systems," Provost Gloria Gibson said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him to elevate UNI's educator preparation programs at the state and national level and in partnering with the K-12 school systems to provide highly qualified educators."

    Watson is excited by the programs, people and possibilities UNI has to offer.

    "UNI is sort of renowned for its teacher education programs, and it's got lots of rich opportunities within the College of Education," Watson said. "And when I looked at the profile of the university and I looked at the various programs that were offered, when I recognized that UNI was once a normal school – which means that, historically, it's always been focused on teacher education – it seemed to be a great fit for me."

    Another attraction for Watson is the people at UNI, as several people are "nationally renowned for the work that they do," he said.

    "And the third thing was the possibilities: UNI is sort of a regional best secret," Watson said. "People know it within the Midwestern region, but it doesn't have a larger sort of national profile, and I think that it is poised to have a larger national profile."

One of those possibilities involves ensuring that all students in the program graduate with what Watson considers "cultural competencies," "linguistic diversity," "developmental diversity" and "technological savvy."

    "I want candidates who are coming out of our programs to understand all about culture and people of color," he said. "I also want them to understand about how to work with students whose first language isn't English, so that's linguistic diversity. And then I want all of our candidates to be able to understand different types of students and special needs learners, learners in special education. I want all of our candidates to understand what I consider developmental diversity. And then they have to have technological skills.

"So what our challenge would be to look at our programs and see what our students are already doing in these areas and see how we can make those components more rigorous and robust," he continued.

Watson received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of South Carolina before moving on to North Carolina State University to earn his Ed.D. He has an extensive background in education: Watson taught kindergarten and first through fifth grades as well as eighth grade American history in South Carolina, North Carolina and St. Paul, Minn.

    Watson also brings with him several years of experience in academia, as he has been an assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, department chair and associate dean at both Hamlin University in St. Paul and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he currently serves as the associate dean of the Teacher Education Program, chairman of the Department of Education Studies and professor in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

    Watson will replace Bill Callahan, who has served as dean since 2007.