SED Names Hardin Coleman as Dean

Hardin L. K. Coleman, a leading University of Wisconsin–Madison educator and psychologist who specializes in preparing school counselors for culturally diverse settings, has been named dean of the School of Education. Coleman’s appointment was announced yesterday by Provost David Campbell, who describes the new dean as an outstanding educator and professional whose experience, scholarship, and training epitomize Boston University’s long history of engagement with the community.

“With Hardin Coleman’s knowledge, vision, and fresh perspective, we anticipate that SED will flourish in its civic role as well as its scholarly activities and that its students will reflect its global character,” says Campbell. “We are eagerly anticipating Dr. Coleman’s arrival.”

Speaking from his office at the University of Wisconsin, Coleman says he is very excited about coming to Boston University. “I look forward to helping the School of Education become a national model for such things as how to integrate science and practice, how to understand how technological advances need to be integrated into the practice of education, and how to train teachers who can effectively address the challenges of working in an increasingly diverse and global society,” he says.

Boston University President Robert A. Brown says he is very pleased with the appointment. “With Hardin Coleman’s leadership, we will further enhance our legacy of quality educational programs, research, and community engagement,” Brown says. “Those are the things that define a school of education in a great urban research community.”

Brown also praises the work of Dean ad interim Charles Glenn (SED’87), an SED professor and chairman of educational administration and policy and the former director of urban education and equity efforts for the Massachusetts Department of Education. "We’ve been very fortunate over these past two years to have had Charles Glenn serving as dean ad interim," he says. "He is an eminent scholar who has generously taken time from his principal work to oversee the school, and he has done so with marvelous energy, creativity, and effectiveness. He has earned our gratitude." Glenn will remain on the SED faculty.

Coleman has been the ad interim associate dean of Wisconsin’s School of Education since 2004, and a professor of counseling psychology. His research has focused on the development of school-based interventions that support the academic achievement of students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, while his teaching has concentrated on equipping students and professionals to effectively counsel and serve the needs of a diverse school population.

A graduate of Williams College, he earned a master’s in counseling from the University of Vermont and a doctorate in counseling from Stanford University. He joined the department of counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an assistant professor in 1991, served as chair of the counseling psychology department for a year, and was appointed associate dean for continuing studies and multicultural initiatives at Wisconsin’s School of Education in 2006.

Coleman has coauthored three books on school counseling: Handbook of Multicultural Competencies (2003); The Intersection of Race, Class and Gender: Implications for Multicultural Counseling (2001); and Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Assessment, Education and Training, and Supervision (1997). A fourth coauthored book, Handbook on School Counseling, will be published soon.

Before returning to school for his doctorate, Coleman spent 10 years as a high school religion teacher and school counselor in Quaker schools. During that time, he launched several religious education programs and developed a counseling program for the Westtown School in Pennsylvania. He has also published numerous articles in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, The School Counselor, the Psychological Bulletin, and Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

Art Jahnke can be reached a jahnke@bu.edu.