Stevenson named dean of CU-Boulder grad school

Stevenson

John A. Stevenson on Tuesday was appointed to the post of dean of the University of Colorado Boulder graduate school by Provost Russell A. Moore. Stevenson has held the position in an interim capacity since May 2009.

"John Stevenson has provided outstanding leadership as interim dean and we are looking forward to his building upon these achievements," Moore said. "He has led with vision, insight and collegiality, and no one knows the landscape for graduate education locally and nationally better than John.  I believe he will continue to be a dynamic resource for our graduate students and faculty as we move into a new era of global excellence in graduate education in a strong leadership position."

Stevenson said he was honored by the appointment and excited by the opportunities for continuing to transform graduate education at CU-Boulder on a global scale.

"Extending the world-class excellence of graduate education at CU-Boulder to Colorado, the nation and the world will be my top priority as dean," Stevenson said. "Perhaps the greatest global economic advantage our nation maintains is the outstanding quality of our graduate education, and this is particularly true of CU-Boulder. I am excited at our prospects and looking forward to continuing to work with our amazing faculty, staff and graduate students."

Stevenson was chair of the department of English from 1996 to 2004 and interim director of the program for writing and rhetoric from 2001 to 2002. He joined the graduate school as associate vice chancellor for graduate education in 2005, and served as chair of the Flagship 2030 Task Force on Graduate Education in 2008 before being appointed interim dean in May 2009.

He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Duke University in 1975 and a doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1983. He has been a CU-Boulder faculty member in the English department since 1982. He is a scholar of British literature of the 18th century who has presented his work both nationally and internationally many times, and is the author of two books and many articles. His 2005 book "The Real History of Tom Jones" won the Eugene Kayden Book Prize in 2007.