Penn extends terms of Graduate School of Education and Penn Law deans through 2023

Penn has extended the terms of two graduate school deans through 2023.

Pam Grossman, dean of the Graduate School of Education, and Ted Ruger, dean of Penn Law School, will now hold their positions until June 30, 2023, Penn Today reported. President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett made the decision to extend their terms.

In addition to serving as the dean of GSE since 2015, Grossman is also the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education. Much of Grossman’s work has focused on investigating quality issues in education and support for teachers. In 2009, she was elected to the National Academy of Education and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.

During her time as dean, Grossman has intensified the relationship between GSE and West Philadelphia’s schools, helping initiate specific partnerships with the Henry C. Lea School and Penn Alexander School, Penn Today reported.

Ruger is a Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law. His research has focused on questions around judicial authority, as well as on the impact of American legal institutions on health law.

Ruger, who has led the Law School since 2015, helped acquire a gift of $125 million from the W.P. Carey Foundation, the largest financial gift ever given to a law school, Penn Today reported. He also played an important role in procuring a $50 million donation from the Robert and Jane Toll Foundation, a gift to help increase the number of public interest graduates from the Law School.

During his term, Ruger has also overseen the hiring of 11 new faculty members, increasing the number of female faculty and faculty from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, Penn Today reported.

Under the leadership of Grossman and Ruger, both schools have seen an increase in diversity within their student populations, Penn Today reported.