Senior Vice Provost Erin McNamara Horvat Named Interim Dean for School of Education

This message was sent to all students, faculty and staff by the Provost on August 19, 2022.

Dear Students and Colleagues,

After the sudden passing of Dean Penny Hammrich left the School of Education in need of an interim leader, I am pleased to announce that, Erin McNamara Horvat, PhD, senior vice provost for Faculty Advancement and Undergraduate Affairs, will serve as interim dean of the School, beginning August 22.

A seasoned administrator, Dr. Horvat joined Drexel University in 2015 as professor and associate dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Education and in 2016 joined the Office of the Provost. She served as senior vice provost for Faculty Affairs from 2016-2019 overseeing policy and procedures and faculty development for all colleges and schools. Dr. Horvat also developed, launched and oversees the Teaching and Learning Center. In 2019, Undergraduate Affairs was added to her portfolio. In this role, she oversees the offices of Undergraduate Education and the University Catalog, driving efforts to deliver an excellent undergraduate experience both in and out of the classroom.

As an ethnographer and sociologist of education, Dr. Horvat has focused her research on exploring how race and class shape access throughout the educational pipeline. She remains committed to the University’s civic engagement efforts. She co-chaired the education committee for the federally designated Promise Zone and served as the education lead in securing the $30 million Promise Neighborhood Federal grant.  

Most recently, Dr. Horvat was instrumental in managing undergraduate education through the pandemic and played a major role in moving the University to remote learning at the onset of COVID-19.

While serving as interim dean, Dr. Horvat will continue to oversee Faculty Advancement and will seek to hire an interim associate vice provost for Faculty Advancement. In the coming weeks, the Office of the Provost will create a revised vice provost position to oversee Undergraduate Affairs that will report directly to me, replacing Dr. Shivanthi Anandan’s role as vice provost for Undergraduate Education.

I express my sincere gratitude to Sarah Ulrich, associate dean of Teacher Education and Undergraduate Affairs, who agreed to step in and provide leadership for the School of Education until an interim dean was named.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Horvat and wishing her well in this new role.

Regards,

Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost