by David Price (July 2010)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Gregory J. Kelly, head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in Penn State's College of Education, has accepted an invitation to become the College's next associate dean for research, outreach, and technology. Kelly will succeed Kyle Peck, who will continue to direct the Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory and the Aerospace Education Services Project from his position as a resident scholar in the Center for Education and Developmental Sciences (CEADS) within the associate dean’s office.
"Greg Kelly has been a highly effective department head for the College and is well prepared to step into the role of the associate dean for research, outreach, and technology," says David H. Monk, dean of the College of Education. "He is an accomplished scholar with a deep understanding of and appreciation for the role of research and its role within instruction and outreach. I am very grateful for his willingness to accept the challenges associated with this new role and look forward to working with him to build an even stronger research, outreach, and technology portfolio for the College."
Kelly, professor of science education, holds a doctoral degree in the graduate field of education with a Ph.D. minor in physics. He was awarded his bachelor of science degree in physics magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany. His research interests include science education, student learning, philosophy and sociology of science, classroom interaction, and qualitative research methodology.
Previously he served on the faculty of the Department of Education at the University of California Santa Barbara and worked as a physics and chemistry teacher in the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. Kelly is editor-in-chief of the journal Science Education and serves on the advisory board of the International Journal of Instruction.
Both Peck and Kelly will continue serving in their former positions—Kyle Peck as associate dean and Greg Kelly as department head in Curriculum and Instruction—until a new Curriculum and Instruction department head is appointed.
