Ithaca College has announced the appointment of Diane Gayeski as interim dean of the Division of Graduate and Professional Studies for the 2008-9 academic year. She will succeed Gregory Woodward, who will take over as dean of the School of Music on July 1.
Gayeski is presently associate dean of faculty and professor of strategic communication in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. A 1974 graduate of Ithaca College's Department of Television-Radio, she returned to her alma mater in 1979 after earning master's and doctoral degrees in educational technology from the University of Maryland. Currently the program director and faculty expert for the College's online certificate programs in strategic communication management and performance improvement management, she has also served as chair of her department and of the graduate program in communications.
"Dr. Gayeski is immensely well respected on the campus, and has been highly involved in several graduate programs and initiatives," said Kathleen Rountree, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "She is an experienced, creative, and entrepreneurial academic leader. I am delighted to appoint her to this position."
A recognized innovator in her field of organizational learning and communication, business performance improvement, and educational technologies, Gayeski has maintained an active consulting practice, leading strategic planning and design engagements for such clients as the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, MetLife, TAP Pharmaceuticals, Fiat, and the Bank of Montreal. The author of 14 books and scores of articles, earlier this year she received the Thomas F. Gilbert Distinguished Professional Achievement Award at the annual conference of the International Society for Performance Improvement.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to combine my enthusiasm for the College's programs in graduate and professional studies with my experience in adult learning and new technologies," said Gayeski. "Greg Woodward and his team have made remarkable strides in expanding the College's profile beyond our traditional undergraduate course offerings, and it will be my pleasure to continue that momentum."
The Division of Graduate and Professional Studies (GPS) was formed last October, when the Division of Graduate Studies and Division of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions were merged following five years of program growth and increased interaction within the two areas. Offerings in GPS include graduate programs, winter and summer sessions, professional workshops, and precollege study programs.
