After 14 years of leadership, Ronald W. Marx will leave his position as dean of the College of Education on June 30 to pursue other scholarly interests.
"I began my education career working for Los Angeles Unified School District in 1966," Marx says. "This academic year marks the 51st year since I began in education – although in 1962, one of my jobs in the Army was to write lesson plans for how to fire 105 mm howitzers, but I am not entirely sure that qualifies as an education job.
"That is a long time to work in a field, and I have to say that the opportunity to lead this terrific College of Education as dean has been a wonderful capstone to this career. I am the second most senior dean at the University of Arizona, and simply put, it is time to move on."
As a result of Marx's leadership, the college:
Offers new programs in high demand by students.
Conducts and encourages research that positively impacts teaching practices.
Enjoys strong relationships with school districts and education leaders.
Engages community and government leaders, whose mission is to support education in the state.
Presidents of the college's national advisory board and alumni council have created a fund, the Ronald W. Marx Community Engagement and Outreach Endowment Fund, to recognize and honor Marx for his years of leadership, including his success at recruiting scholars with stellar programs of research, which results in far more funding from federal agencies like the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice.
The new endowment allows Marx to leave a legacy, which will enable future deans to address priorities in community engagement, outreach and scholarships.
"I am grateful the college, spearheaded by our dedicated national advisory board and award-winning alumni council, has come forward to raise this endowment," Marx said. "Future deans will be able to use earnings from the endowment to support outreach to and engagement with the education community. A hallmark of successful colleges of education is that they have roots in and serve a number of partners in the education sector.
"This fund will enable that work to advance and to place the college at the center of collaborations to support education for children, youth and adults in Tucson, Arizona, and beyond."
As an additional incentive, a donor has come forward with a $10,000 matching gift, so contributions will be matched – accelerating the growth of the fund – as it is established this year.
A version of this article first appeared in the fall 2016 issue of Imagine, a magazine produced by the College of Education.
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