University of New Mexico Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs James Holloway has named Hansel Burley as dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences effective July 1, 2020.
”UNM is thrilled to have Professor Burley joining us as Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences,” said Holloway. “Professor Burley has studied issues of mentoring, student belonging, resilience and student achievement, as well as self-efficacy and commitment to teaching as a profession. The College of Education and Human Services is critically important to both UNM and the state, and I am confident the outstanding and dedicated faculty, students and staff of the College will thrive under Hansel Burley's leadership."
Burley looks forward to his new role at UNM including the opportunity to work with faculty, staff and the people of New Mexico.
“I am excited about joining the UNM College of Education and Human Sciences family. I found faculty and staff to be refreshingly open, transparent, and dedicated to students, educators, and the people of New Mexico,” said Burley. “Seeing their collective commitment to better lives for people requires that I bring my best skill and insight to this mission. Great opportunities and a strong faculty, working together – that's a formula for positive impact."
Burley, who comes to UNM from Texas Tech University (TTU), fills the position held on an interim basis by Deborah Rifenbary since July 2019 following the departure of former dean Hector Ochoa. Burley was selected from a group of four semi-finalists who visited campus in late-February and early-March. He met with a number of institutional constituencies including faculty, staff and students during open forums giving the campus community an opportunity to engage and ask questions, as well as provide feedback to the search committee.
Burley is currently the Chair of the Educational Psychology and Leadership Department, and Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at Texas Tech University (TTU). Since 2016, he led the largest graduate department at TTU through curriculum reform, graduate review and strategic planning. The department has six programs including Instructional Technology, Educational Psychology, Special Education, Educational Leadership, Higher Education and Counselor Education.
He is the former Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research where he led the effort to reform curriculum of the entire college with a focus on developing skill and product outcomes. In that position Burley managed graduate and undergraduate education (supervising all faculty in the college), graduate recruiting, admissions, recordkeeping and graduation. He led the development and maintenance of the curriculum, and the development of a data warehouse system for the college. He also served previously as Associate Dean for Academics and Data, and Associate Dean for Undergraduates for the TTU College of Education.
“Much of his work takes a view through a lens of diversity – including factors of race and gender as important characteristics shaping outcomes for students,” said Holloway. “He is wide-ranging in his interests, having studied student perceptions of clinical educators and theories of media effects. He brings to UNM extensive experience as an academic administrator at both the departmental and college level.”
Burley’s research focuses on the antecedents to higher education remediation and the resilience of developmental education students. He examines diversity issues, particularly when related to college access and success, and also studies institutional research and effectiveness. He published Cases on Institutional Research Systems, a casebook for institutional researchers and has also published numerous articles and studies.
Burley is a former board member of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) and has been affiliated with associated organizations for 27 years. He is the past president of the Traditionally Black Colleges and Universities—Special Interest Group (TBCU-SIG) of AIR, and is also a former member of the editorial board for the Journal of Developmental Education. During his career Burley has earned the TTU President’s Teaching Award and was named an Integrated Scholar by the TTU Provost’s Office.
In his administrative experience, Burley has consistently brought innovation and inclusion to decision-making and problem solving. He believes that everyone in an organization is the source of potential solutions, and in the diversity of people producing a diversity of ideas as a key driver of success.
Burley received his BA in English Communication Arts from St. Mary’s University of San Antonio (1982), and MA in English from Stephen F. Austin (1985) and his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M University (1993).