Dear UH Community, 

Following a nationwide search for UH’s next College of Education Dean, I am pleased to announce we have identified a sole finalist for this position. Cathy Horn, who has served as Interim Dean since August 2022, will assume the role of Dean effective June 1. 

Dr. Horn’s experience as an education scholar, teacher and administrator will certainly support her efforts in leading the college. Likewise, her passion for her college and the University of Houston will be an asset to our institution and most importantly, our students. 

She is a proud UH alumna, who earned her Master of Education from the College of Education. Dr. Horn also holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and English from Rice University and a Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education.  

She arrived at UH in 2005 as a faculty member for the college’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department and served as the department’s chair for four years. Dr. Horn also served as its associate chair twice. 

At UH, she is presently the Director of the Texas Education Research Center; Executive Director of the Institute for Education Policy Research and Evaluation; and Director of the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Advancement of Teacher Education.  

Dr. Horn was named a Moores Professor in 2019. That year, she further honed her academic leadership skills as an American Council on Education Fellow. Recently, she has served as an American Leadership Forum Fellow. Other honors include a Teaching Excellence Award and a Fulbright Scholarship that supported her research in Chile. 

Dr. Horn’s research largely addresses college access for and success outcomes of traditionally underserved students both in the U.S. and internationally. Her scholarly output includes five books, contributions to 50 journal articles and more than 20 book chapters (with more in progress). 

I’d like to thank the search committee for its hard work in identifying candidates. I also would like to recognize the committee's chairs Athena N. Jackson, Dean of UH Libraries and Milena Keller-Margulis, Associate Professor in the College of Education, for leading this search.

Lastly, I'd like to offer my gratitude to everyone who participated in the public forums with the candidates. Your feedback was very helpful to this process.

I look forward to having Dr. Horn at the helm of the College of Education! Please join me in congratulating her on her new role.  

Respectfully, 

Diane Z. Chase 
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, UH