UW News

June 5, 2008

Baldasty named interim vice provost, graduate dean

Gerald (Jerry) Baldasty, chair and professor of communication, has been named interim vice provost and dean of The Graduate School effective Aug. 1, Provost Phyllis Wise has announced.

Baldasty, who is also an adjunct professor in Women Studies and American Ethnic Studies, joined the UW faculty in 1978. His work has focused on media in the context of politics, business, gender and race/ethnicity. He received the UW Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000, has been director of the UW Teaching Academy since 2005, and is a member of the UW Teaching and Learning Consortium. He has been chair of the Department of Communication since 2002.

Baldasty received his BA in communications from the UW in 1972, his MA in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1974, and his Ph.D. in communications from the UW in 1978.

In preparation for the coming search for the next vice provost and dean, Wise has appointed a working group chaired by Ocean and Fishery Sciences Dean Arthur Nowell to look closely at The Graduate School’s functions at the UW. The working group will be gathering information and preparing its report over the summer and will post a draft report and solicit online comments in September.

Current Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Suzanne Ortega has accepted the post of provost at the University of New Mexico.