About the Dean

Now in his 11th year as dean of the Neag School of Education, Richard L. Schwab’s experience in K-16 education has spanned three decades.

At UConn, he has worked with his leadership team to make deliberate and bold changes that continue to move the Neag School toward its goal of becoming one of the top schools of education in the country. Under his leadership, the Neag School has established signature programs that have earned national acclaim including teacher education, school psychology, school counseling, gifted education, special education, administrator preparation, exercise science, and measurement, evaluation and assessment.

Before coming to UConn, Dr. Schwab was a professor and dean at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He spent another 10 years as a professor of education at the University of New Hampshire. He is a native of East Haddam, Conn., and earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in educational administration at UConn.

For the past 12 years, his research has focused on effective teacher and administrator education reform. He has published on issues related to teacher education, educational technology, occupational stress and health in educational organizations, and most recently, collaborated with his faculty on a book, Portrait of a Profession: Teaching and Teachers in the 21st Century for which he served as co-editor.

At the university level, he is involved in a number of campus-wide responsibilities. He is a member of the University Senate and has run the searches for a number of administrative hires, including the deans of the School of Business and College of Agriculture & Natural Sciences. He led the effort to expand technology capability and use across campus to enhance student learning and was co-chair of the University Master Planning Committee.

His commitment to education reaches the regional and national levels as well. Dr. Schwab is president of the Council of Academic Deans of Research Institutions (CADREI), is an active member of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) and the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE). He teaches each summer at AACTE’s New Deans Institute. He is a member of the New England Council of Presidents (NECOP) and has served as president and held several other offices of the Northeastern Educational Research Association.

In 2006, his undergraduate alma mater, the Boston University School of Education, presented him with the Ida M. Johnston Award for outstanding achievement and service to the field of education.