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Kochan named dean of college

Fran Kochan, former interim dean of the College of Education and a past director of AU's Truman Pierce Institute, has been named dean of the AU College of Education.

AU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs John Heilman made the announcement after his evaluation of comments submitted to him following public presentations by Kochan and Bonnie White, the college's most recent interim dean and a Humana-Germany-Sherman distinguished professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching.

Kochan, who has been on the Auburn faculty since 1994, served as interim dean for the College of Education from August 2001 until September 2004. She has been director of the Truman Pierce Institute, devoted to building partnerships between AU and public school systems, since 1997. She is a tenured full professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology.

"We had two outstanding candidates for this termed deanship, both of whom made compelling public presentations," Heilman said. "I thank Dr. Kochan for accepting this responsibility and know the College of Education will be in excellent hands."

Kochan's appointment as dean culminates an internal selection process that began in May. She will have the full authority of the deanship and will serve until a national search results in the appointment by the provost of a permanent dean for the college.

Auburn University is a preeminent land-grant and comprehensive research institution with nearly 23,000 students and 6,500 faculty and staff. Ranked among the top 50 public universities nationally, Auburn is Alabama's largest educational institution, offering more than 230 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.

Last Updated: Jun 16, 2011