Award-Winning Teacher to Lead UNC’s School of Education

Posted on April 18, 2016

UNC’s School of Education, one of the oldest professional schools at Carolina, is getting a new dean.

The University announced Monday that Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, the associate dean for research and research education in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as the new dean at UNC. He succeeds Bill McDiarmid ’69, who served as dean from 2009 to the end of 2015, leading the school as it built new academic programs, increased diversity among its faculty and prepared for a capital campaign. McDiarmid  is rejoining the school’s faculty.

“We are pleased to welcome Fouad Abd-El-Khalick as the dean of the School of Education,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost James W. Dean Jr. “He brings outstanding global experience as a science education scholar, award-winning teacher and leader of diversified partnerships tackling complex educational issues. We are certain his contributions at UNC-Chapel Hill will greatly enrich the lives of the students, faculty and staff in our School of Education and across campus.”

Abd-El-Khalick has been at Illinois since 2000, where he is the Grayce Wicall Gauthier Professor of education. He has published extensively in science education and is an award-winning teacher. His research focuses on the teaching and learning about the nature of science in grades K-12 and in preservice and in-service science teacher education settings. He has helped develop and lead partnerships involving Illinois and other universities, local school districts and others to improve the practice of science teaching.

The appointment, effective July 1, was approved by the Board of Trustees. Deborah Eaker-Rich ’74 (’86 MEd, ’90 PhD), senior associate dean and chief academic officer for the school, has served as interim dean since January.

“Serving as dean provides a unique opportunity to work alongside a large group of talented and committed faculty, staff, students, alumni and leaders both within the School of Education and across the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and beyond to address issues that are of critical importance to the well-being of the state, nation and the globe,” Abd-El-Khalick said.

Abd-El-Khalick’s candidate presentation is available on the school’s website:

Abd-El-Khalick grew up in Lebanon, earning a bachelor of science degree in biology, a diploma in teaching secondary science and a master of arts in science education from the American University of Beirut. He came to the U.S. for graduate school, earning a doctorate in science education from Oregon State University in 1998.

After earning his doctorate, Abd-El-Khalick spent two years on the faculty at the American University of Beirut in the department of education before joining Illinois.

Abd-El-Khalick serves as co-editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and serves on the executive board of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.

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