The Graduate School will be hosting a candidate for the dean position virtually on July 14. All faculty, staff, students and interested members of the community are welcome and encouraged to attend the candidate’s virtual campus presentation and open forum to ask questions about their qualifications to lead the Graduate School. Feedback surveys will be provided next week.
Led by search committee chair Kevin Laudner, Dean of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences, the eight-person search committee consists of faculty, staff and one student. See the full search committee listing below.
Meet the Candidate
Dr. Hillary Fouts
Friday, July 14
Dr. Hillary Fouts currently serves as Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and Professor of Psychology at Western Oregon University (WOU). Prior to her time at WOU, she was a Professor of Child and Family Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). During her time at UTK she served in various leadership positions including Director of Graduate Studies for Child and Family Studies as well as a Faculty Fellow in the Office of Diversity and Engagement.
Prior to becoming a faculty member at UTK, Dr. Fouts spent close to four years at that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a post-doctoral research fellow at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Washington State University, specializing in cross-cultural child development and completed her bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Anthropology from Central Washington University.
Dr. Fouts’ research is trans-disciplinary and lies at the intersection of developmental psychology, anthropology, and public health. She has served as the PI or Co-PI of numerous federal and foundation grants, totaling close to $3.4 million. Nearly all of her grants have provided funding for graduate students, including providing research assistantships, research and intercultural training, and international travel for fieldwork in East and Central Africa. Now as Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, she oversees six grant-funded centers and sponsored projects that total over $42 million.
Dr. Fouts is passionate about graduate education and during her time at WOU, she has launched new recruitment initiatives, a new accelerated pathway for undergraduate students into graduate programs, a new funding mechanism for student research, and also created a graduate student advisory board and helped move the university to a new degree level with the introduction of professional doctorates. During her career, she has taught over 500 graduate students and mentored over 60 graduate students in their thesis and dissertation research.
Dr. Fouts grew up in the Pacific Northwest and in her free time enjoys time with her family, traveling, and many outdoor activities including camping, hiking, mountain biking, and skiing.
The committee members are:
- Kevin Laudner, Dean of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences
- Tabatha Farney, Associate Dean & Associate Professor, Kraemer Family Library
- Alisha Castellanoz Meyer, Graduate School Student Engagement and Retention Coordinator, Office of the Graduate School
- Tom Christensen, Professor, Department of Physics and Energy Science. Prior UCCS Provost
- Janel Owens, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Chemistry & Biochemistry
- Steve Miller, Associate Director of Admissions Operations
- Lindsey Visscher, UCCS student
- Michael Corl, Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science