Eugene Garcia Peg Skorpinski photo

11 OCTOBER 00 | Professor Eugene Garcia announced Sept. 13 that he will step down as dean of the Graduate School of Education at the end of this academic year.

"I have been honored to serve as dean - it's been the highlight of my career," said Garcia. "I thank every last one of my many colleagues who have made the Graduate School of Education successful during my tenure and have positioned the school so well as we enter the new century."

His six-year tenure has been marked by a major expansion of the school's commitment to educate principals and teachers, as mandated by the state legislature in 1999. Under Garcia's leadership, the school spent a year planning for new programs that provide a free education for teachers and principals in exchange for four years of service in low-performing schools. The first cohorts have now enrolled in the Teacher Scholars program and in the Principal Leadership Institute.

Garcia also has focused the school on collaboration, hosting a national conference on this topic in 1996 and founding the Excellence Through Collaboration and Outreach Center that same year.

Under Garcia's tenure, the school has consolidated its standing as one of the top graduate schools of education in the United States. There has also been a marked increase in private giving to the school: two of the largest gifts in its 108-year history were made since 1999.

Garcia also has been a tireless advocate for a fair UC admissions policy. As chair of the systemwide Latino Task Force, he was instrumental in opening undergraduate admissions to students who finish at the top of their graduating classes, as well as in expanding UC outreach to low-income communities.

Garcia, who remains on the faculty, is looking forward to a sabbatical year and to re-invigorating his teaching and research with a new four-year grant from the National Science Foundation.