Home- Deans of College of Education
- Dean William Katzenmeyer
Deans of College of Education
Dean William Katzenmeyer, 1977–1994
Dr. William Katzenmeyer became the third dean of the USF College of Education in 1977. Prior to his tenure at USF, Dr. Katzenmeyer held the position as Dean of the Graduate School at Duke University. When he arrived at USF, Dr. Kateznmeyer learned that despite rapid growth in enrollment during the first 15 years of the College of Education’s existence, both enrollment and funding had begun to decline.
In a meeting with the faculty soon after he arrived at USF, Dean Katzenmeyer expressed the urgent need for an increase in student credit hours and warned of the possible loss of faculty positions within the College. In an effort to reverse the problem of a declining enrollment, the faculty immediately began to establish additional off-campus graduate programs for teachers located in surrounding counties. The departments were also able to increase their recruitment levels of undergraduate students. The efforts produced a significant increase in student credit hours in both the graduate and undergraduate programs. From 1986 to 1990, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded in the College increased from 509 to 788. During that same period, the number of graduate degrees increased from 440 to 496.
Dean Katzenmeyer stressed the need for institutes and centers to be a part of the College’s mission and worked to secure the external funding and business partnerships needed to successfully operate the additional programming. There was a significant increase in the level of grants secured by faculty members during Dean Kateznmeyer’s tenure. In 1976-77, the year before Dr. Katzenmeyer was appointed to the deanship, the grants awarded totaled over $1.2 million. By 1993-94, the year that he resigned as the dean, the amount of grants awarded for the year was over $8 million. Also, the number of institutes and centers the College of Education increased from five in 1977 to twelve in 1994.
Dean Katzenmeyer’s Administrative Team
Dean Katzenmeyer had three administrative teams during his 16 year tenure. From 1977 to 1979, he was joined by Dr. Hubert Hoffman, Associate Dean for Programs and Dr. Annie Ward, Associate Dean for Research and Development. From 1980 to 1988, his administrative team was comprised of Dr. Ed Uprichard, Associate Dean for Programs and Dr. Ed Steiner, Associate Dean for Administration. From 1989 until his resignation in 1994, Dean Katzenmeyer’s team was Dr. Evelyn Searles, Associate Dean for Programs; Dr. Dick Puglisi, Assistant Dean for Education and Business Partnerships; and Dr. Ed Steiner, who continued to serve in the position as Associate Dean for Administration.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1980 – The Center for Economic Education is established in the College of Education.
- 1980 – The Teacher Education Center is authorized by the Florida Legislature to be established within the College of Education. The College’s faculty members lead all Florida universities in service hours provided for 11 years.
- 1981 – The SunCoast Area Teacher Training Program is initiated. It will later become an honors program for students within the College of Education.
- 1984 – The Teacher Evaluation Assessment Center is established in the College of Education by the Florida Legislature.
- 1984 – The Florida Center for Instructional Computing is established in the College.
- 1985 – The National Resource Center for Middle School Grades Education is awarded to the College of Education.
- 1989 – The USF College of Education meets all standards in receiving its first Accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
- 1989 – The Florida Legislature establishes the Institute for At-Risk Infants, Children and Youth and Their Families at the USF College of Education.
- 1990 – The David C. Anchin Center is established within the College of Education with an endowment from the David C. Anchin family.
Professional Contributions to the College of Education after the Deanship
Upon resigning as Dean of the College of Education in 1994, Dr. Katzenmeyer became a member of the faculty of the Department of Measurement and Research within the College and served as the director of the Anchin Center until his retirement in 2004.
Dean Katzenmeyer’s Thoughts on His Service to the College of Education
During Dr. Katzenmeyer’s oral history interview, he looked back on his experiences with the College of Education as an administrator and faculty member and said, “There are those wonderful people in every department who have really made this a wonderful place to be. Serving as Dean of this College and as Director of the Anchin Center were wonderfully fulfilling experiences for me. I know I was very fortunate in my career, and am very grateful to the faculty, the members of the administrative council, and all the people who contributed to the successes of the College during my tenure as Dean.”