Gerald Dillashaw, who has been dean of Elon University's School of Education since 1992, will step down as dean at the conclusion of the 2007-08 academic year. He will continue his work at Elon, returning to a full-time teaching position in the School of Education following a one-year sabbatical leave. Details...
“It has been exciting to have been a participant in the phenomenal growth of the university and the School of Education over the last 15 years,” Dillashaw says. “It is time for new leadership to bring new perspectives and new ideas to keep the momentum going. I’m pleased with our accomplishments and the School of Education is poised for new challenges under a new dean.”
During the past 15 years, Dillashaw has guided the growth of Elon’s education and physical therapy programs, which currently serve nearly 800 students in teacher education, exercise and sport science and leisure/sport management, along with a master’s program in education and a doctoral program in physical therapy. In addition, the School of Education houses the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program and the military science program for both Air Force and Army ROTC.
Under Dillashaw’s leadership, Elon’s Teacher Education Program has received an exemplary rating from the North Carolina State Board of Education and has been continually accredited by NCATE, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. He led efforts to achieve initial NCATE accreditation for the master’s of education program, create undergraduate and graduate programs in special education, form the Office of School Outreach Programs and create a master’s program in gifted education.
He also provided leadership for the establishment of a master’s program in physical therapy (MPT) in 1997 and the transition of the program to a doctorate in physical therapy (DPT) in 2003.
The School of Education also achieved accreditation for its athletic training education program, and formed the Department of Leisure and Sport Management.
Dillashaw has been active in the professional education community. He was appointed to the North Carolina State Evaluation Committee on Teacher Education in 1993 and served for six years, the last three as chair of the committee. He was appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission and to the North Carolina Teacher Academy Board of Directors in 2004. Dillashaw served as the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education representative to NCATE’s State Partnership Board.
Locally, Dillashaw is on the board of directors for Elon Homes for Children and Alamance Citizens for Education.
Dillashaw served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1970-71 and continued his interest in the military, providing leadership for Elon’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs.
Prior to his work at Elon, Dillashaw held several positions at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill., and Bethany College, Bethany, W.Va. He began his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Spartanburg, S.C.
Elon Provost Gerald Francis will launch a national search for Dillashaw’s successor this fall.