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After more than 20 years at Kansas University, Thomas Heilke, dean of the KU College of Graduate Studies, will leave his position this winter.
Heilke recently took a job at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus. There, he will be the associate dean of the College of Graduate Studies and inaugural director of the Residential Graduate College.
Heilke, a Canadian native, said much of the job's allure was that it put him closer to his family, including his two grown children, both of whom currently live in Canada.
Beyond that, he said the position was a near-perfect fit given his experience. “The job description read like a chronology of my vitae,” he said.
Heilke said he will miss his friendships from two decades of living in Lawrence.
“Unless you’re some kind of a troll you don’t leave a community after 20 years and then just shake the dust off when you leave,” he said.
He and his wife took to Lawrence nearly immediately upon moving to the city in 1990, when he began teaching political science as an assistant professor at KU. “We’re prairie people. We felt right at home, right from the get go,” he said.
Along with the friends he’s made, Heilke said he will miss Lawrence’s downtown, its restaurants, its music and arts scene, and the level of local political engagement he’s seen in the community.
A search for Heilke’s successor will begin immediately, according to a news release. The search will be in-house, limited to current full professors at KU.
From 2003 to 2007 Heilke served as associate dean of international programs at the university before becoming director of Center for Global and International Studies in 2010.
In 2012 Heilke succeeded Sara Rosen as dean of the graduate school. As dean he worked with faculty to develop an implementation plan for KU’s “Bold Initiatives” strategic playbook.
Comments
kusp8 1 year, 4 months ago
Another day, another high level administrator leaving KU. Not good, not good.
Shardwurm 1 year, 4 months ago
You're kidding right? There are any number of people willing to get paid too much to do too little. The Education Industry has a nearly endless supply of personnel to fill positions....and they're churning more of them out every year.
The argument that we don't spend enough on teacher's salaries is a myth propagated by - guess who - the teachers! "Oh, we lost another administrator! We have to pay more so we can retain them!!!" Wrong. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of qualified people to replace them and you can probably lower the salary when you do it.
Call the math department at KU and ask them how many instructors they have who don't even have a college degree yet. I think you'll be surprised....if they'll tell you that is.
ArgyleJayhawks 1 year, 4 months ago
Good Will Hunting - It's Not Your Fault by timeandmusic
hbjayhawk 1 year, 4 months ago
This is great news for KU. The political science department rejoiced when he took a higher level job because he ushered in the worst era of graduate studies in that department.
TalkSense 1 year, 4 months ago
If "hbjayhawk" weren't safely anonymous it would be possible to test that statement. As it is, we have to assume the poster knows nothing and shouldn't be making derogatory remarks about someone who is highly regarded and will be very much missed at KU.
yourworstnightmare 1 year, 4 months ago
Now we know that one person, TalkSense, thinks highly of Heilke and will miss him.
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