After an extensive national search, Lewis & Clark has selected Andrew Saultz as the next dean of the Graduate School of Education and Counseling. As dean, Saultz also joins the Executive Council as a member of the president’s institutional leadership team.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dean Saultz to Lewis & Clark,” said Robin Holmes-Sullivan, president of Lewis & Clark. “Dr. Saultz was overwhelmingly preferred by the community as the candidate with the skills, talents, and vision to lead the graduate school into the future and build on the great accomplishments across all of our graduate programs. I am confident he will make important contributions as a leader on Executive Council, and I look forward to having him as part of my team.”
As interim dean of the College of Education at Pacific University, where he has been since 2018, Saultz has provided oversight of multiple schools and programs, including the School of Learning and Teaching, the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the Early Learning Community, and the PhD in Education and Learning. He has extensive academic leadership experience at Pacific University, including serving for two years as interim dean of the College of Education, five years as the director of the PhD Program in Education and Leadership, the chair of the Graduate Council, the cochair of the Hispanic-Serving Institution Task Force, and a member of the University Accreditation Committee.
“I am honored to accept the position of dean at Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling,” said Saultz. “As a proud alum from the Lewis & Clark MAT program, I know first-hand how incredible the school’s programs are. I’m energized by the opportunity to lead such a dedicated and talented group of students, staff, and faculty, and I’m honored to serve under President Holmes-Sullivan, an incredible leader whose vision I believe in.”
At Pacific, Saultz has been on faculty in the PhD in Education and Leadership program and has served as assistant professor, associate professor, program director and codirector of a multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health grant. Over the past several years, he has supported faculty and students from a wide variety of programs, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, social work, higher education, K-12 education, anthropology, physician assistant studies, and psychology.
Saultz has 17 years of teaching experience, including at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. He began his education career in Michigan as a high school social studies teacher and an instructor in the teacher education department at Michigan State University. He served as an assistant professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, before moving to Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
His teaching and research focuses on building more equitable systems for historically marginalized students. As a tenured professor, Saultz has published research on educational leadership, educational equity, and the intersection between health and education policy.
“I was inspired to attend Lewis & Clark by former faculty member Paul Copley,” said Saultz. “Paul was the main reason I went into teaching. The opportunity to serve as a leader at an institution that meant so much to him is deeply meaningful to me, and I am humbled by the opportunity.”
During his time as interim dean at Pacific, Saultz has been awarded more than $1 million in philanthropic support and over $5 million in grant funding. He earned his BA in political science at Oregon State University, his MAT in social studies at Lewis & Clark, and his PhD in educational policy at Michigan State University.
Saultz succeeds Scott Fletcher, who oversaw a time of tremendous growth at the graduate school during his 17-year tenure. He will be stepping down from the deanship this summer.
