AUSTIN, Texas—Edwin Dorn, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin since July 1997, has announced his resignation as dean of the school, effective Dec. 31.
Dorn became dean after having served as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness during President Clinton’s first term.
Dr. Sheldon Ekland-Olson, provost at the university, said he accepted Dorn’s resignation “with great reluctance,” adding that Dorn has made “extraordinary contributions to the university.”
“I have done everything I promised to do, and more, so it is time for me to seek new challenges,” Dorn said. “The change from an executive position to a tenured faculty position will give me the time to undertake some long-deferred writing projects, and the freedom to comment on current events.”
During his tenure as dean, Dorn has focused on four strategic priorities for the LBJ School of Public Affairs, including leadership development, national and international affairs, civil rights and nonprofit management. He oversaw the creation of eight new programs, all driven by those priorities: the Center for Ethical Leadership, the Hackler Chair in Leadership, the Barnes Fellowships in Leadership, the Center for Health and Social Policy, the Ada Anderson Fund for Civil Rights Studies, the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, a concentration in nonprofit management, and the cross-campus Global Challenges Initiative. Dorn also achieved an unprecedented level of fund-raising success. During his tenure, the school’s annual budget nearly doubled, from $6 million to almost $12 million.
Dorn attributed the LBJ School’s growth to a “dedicated team of faculty and staff members who were open to new ideas.” He also praised the university’s president, Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, and Ekland-Olson for “being there when I needed help” and noted the significant support he had received from alumni, the LBJ Foundation and the school’s advisory council.
“Ed Dorn brought a lifetime of government experience into his leadership of the LBJ School,” Faulkner said. “To that he added personal presence, wisdom and a great confidence that the future can be made better. I will miss his service as dean, but I am glad that he will remain a Texas colleague.”
A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Dorn completed his Ph.D. in political science at Yale University before embarking on a Washington career that included appointments in the Carter and Clinton presidential administrations and work in public policy think tanks. Ekland-Olson said the “combination of scholarship and public policy experience” was one of the keys to Dorn’s success at the LBJ School.
Dorn said the LBJ School also “continues to benefit enormously from the graciousness and generosity of Mrs. (Lady Bird) Johnson.”
Dorn will remain a member of the university’s faculty and will be on research leave in 2005.
For more information contact: Marilyn Duncan, LBJ School of Public Affairs, 512-471-0817, or Robert D. Meckel, The University of Texas at Austin Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
