Marcelle Haddix began her tenure as the 10th dean of the School of Education in August. She came to the School from Syracuse University, where she served most recently as associate provost for strategic initiatives. Haddix, who also holds the Karen A. Falk Distinguished Chair in Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, is a leading scholar in literacy and teacher education, with a particular focus on the experiences of students and teachers of color. Her journey to the School of Education includes time as a high school English teacher, a 500-hour-trained yoga instructor, and a reproductive health doula. Here are some insights from her first months at the helm of our School:
Q: What were your first impressions of the School? What stood out to you?
A: The people. And by “the people” I mean faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners. Everyone has such pride in the School of Education. When I’ve been in spaces across campus or gone places, even in the city of Madison, there’s that sense of pride. It’s a huge part of people’s identities. And that says to me that the experiences people have had — whether it’s working here, attending school here, or having graduated from here — that their experience was transformative, memorable, and impactful. So I have felt, from day one, a huge sense of pride to lead this School, to be a voice and a champion for it.
Q: Taking the helm of the No. 1-ranked School of Education must seem like a double-edged sword: exciting, but there’s also a built-in challenge to stay top tier. How do you plan to approach that?
A: There was a School of Education Board of Visitors member who helped me frame this thinking: How does a No. 1 school of education lead in addressing the “No. 1 issues” in education? And that’s what I’m more focused on. The rankings, they’re great, but they’re the cherry on top. For me, it’s a focus on the impact and the work. How are we addressing the pressing issues of our time and leading in those spaces?
Q: You’ve spoken about how the School’s pillars of arts, health, and education are meaningful for you. Tell us more about why that combination resonates for you.
A: When we think about the pressing issues in education today — like access to literacy for all or mental health and well-being and how that can impact educational experiences and outcomes — we have to think about the whole person. We can do so much more in terms of creating opportunities for the whole person because we have these areas in our School, and I see that across our research, initiatives, and projects. We have it all, we really do.
Q: Being a dean requires a lot — juggling competing interests, making high-stakes decisions, setting an institution-wide agenda — what drew you to this work? And why UW–Madison?
A: There wasn’t a time when I thought, “I want to be a dean.” It was less about the title and more about what I thought the role would allow me to do. This School of Education, though, given its breadth across the arts, health, and education, given the inclusion of centers like the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) and WIDA, and the opportunity to work on new and big things with new leaders on the campus level, those were the things that drew me. This is a job with the kinds of work and challenges I want to take up. I love to do hard things. I love to be in spaces with people who are change agents, people who want to problem-solve, innovate, ideate, and create. When I think about coming to work or being part of an organization, those are the things that I thrive on. This role in particular presented all of those opportunities.
Q: You come to the School during a time of great ambition and growth. What most excites you about the future of our School?
A: We’re focused on maintaining and growing the excellence of our programs, and part of that is evolving our facilities. One need we have is re-unifying the Art Department in one building and creating the physical resources and space for their dynamic work. We have similar yet distinct needs for the Deparment of Kinesiology, where we’ll be working with campus leaders to secure facilities to support the department’s research and teaching and that of others in the health sciences across campus. I think what I’m realizing is you just have to roll up your sleeves and be persistent and keep the process moving forward. It is hard work. But we know that better infrastructure, better physical resources, are needed for our faculty and staff and students to continue to do the excellent work that they’re doing. And so I’m excited for the future, to see us have the world-class physical spaces that we need to do world-class work.
Q: You’ve already done some traveling around Wisconsin in your role as dean, connecting with various community partners. How do you perceive the relationship between the School of Education and the state?
A: UW–Madison, as a flagship, is huge. We can be overwhelming. But I think there’s a sense that we have a responsibility as a flagship to partner well and support and be in community with all parts of the state. As a state, we are stronger together. For example, we have the UW–Madison School of Education Wisconsin Teacher Pledge that we launched here as a donor-funded program. It provides our teacher education students with the equivalent of in-state tuition and fees, plus testing and licensing costs. In exchange, students pledge to teach in any Wisconsin school for at least four years — or three years in high-need subject areas or districts. Right now, we’re advocating that the program should be a statewide and state-funded opportunity that would embrace all of the schools and colleges of education across the state. If the goal is addressing the teacher shortage in Wisconsin, we certainly can lead on that and be a huge support, but we can’t do it alone. And that’s just one example. It’s my impression that there are lots of areas like that across the university where we have strength and resources, especially in terms of research, where we can lead. We should be able to be an anchor to the rest of the state.
Q: What can we expect from you as a leader?
A: I think I bring a lot of joy and fun. I’m a worker. I would say I’m a servant leader. And I’m very collaborative. I also want to model for people a relationship to work that centers health and wellness. The integration of the arts, health, and education — it’s the work that we do, but also it’s deeply personal. I am always engaged in the arts in some way. I am also doing something related to health and wellness every day. I’m always thinking about how to take care of my humanness, and how to make sure that people who work with me or who are around me also feel that their humanness is being acknowledged and accounted for. A lot of my time in these first months at the School has been going around meeting people and building relationships, so people feel they can have relationships with me. I really want people to get to know me.
Related Content
- Visit our “Hangin’ with Dean Haddix” page to watch Dean Haddix answer additional questions about her pop culture favorites, her road-not-taken career paths, and her preferred superpower!
- ‘The Will to Do’: Dean Haddix’s Wisconsin roots
- Marcelle’s Bookshelf