Laura Kohn-Wood, Ph.D., professor and dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami, has been named president-elect of the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions (CADREI). It is the latest honor for Kohn-Wood, who was recently recognized by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for her outstanding efforts to promote racial equity and social justice.
"I look forward to advancing CADREI’s mission of ensuring we are the primary source of support, networking, and innovation for deans and associate deans in schools/colleges of education across the country, as well as advancing the role of scholarly research on education in academia,” said Kohn-Wood, who has served as dean of the school since 2018 and was reappointed last summer.
Don Pope-Davis, dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University and current CADREI president, announced Kohn-Wood’s new leadership role at the council’s fall conference on October 16-18 in Carlsbad, CA. Kohn-Wood will assume the presidency in fall 2024, after serving as CADREI’s secretary for the past two years.
The council is a nonprofit, apolitical organization of 140-plus deans of education from research and land-grant institutions throughout North America. Its purpose is to discuss and formulate plans, policies and programs to ensure that member institutions are effective in preparing graduates.
Receiving the UNITE Award
Kohn-Wood was honored for her longstanding commitment to social justice with the ACC UNITE Award, during the 2023 Fall Unity Week in October. The UNITE Award is an initiative of the ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social Justice and was developed and approved by its 15 member institutions.
“Our ACC members are working together to create meaningful, lasting change through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy,” said Kohn-Wood. “We are all dedicated to improving policies, practices and attitudes throughout our region.”
Each ACC institution selects two recipients for the UNITE Award, and Kohn-Wood shared the fall 2023 honor with Donald Spivey, Ph.D., distinguished professor and Cooper Fellow of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“These honorees are tremendous examples of what can be accomplished when you remain committed to steadfast prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. We are proud of CORE’s steadfast efforts with what will remain a prominent conference priority.”
Kohn-Wood joined the School of Education and Human Development in 2009. She served as chair of the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, and was the founding program director of the Master’s in Community & Social Change program. With her colleagues, she developed the Ph.D. Program in Community Well-Being at the University of Miami.
Kohn-Wood was also associate vice provost for the Office of Institutional Culture, served as the senior resident faculty of Pearson Residential College and was the inaugural co-chair of the University of Miami’s Standing Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with a specialization in community psychology, from the University of Virginia.
