SOE Welcomes New Assistant Dean for Academic Administration

After a national search, Claretta McDaniel was selected as the new Assistant Dean for Academic Administration in the School of Education, beginning June 15th. Claretta has extensive experience in higher education and embodies a passion for student success, equity, and inclusion. She was most recently the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the Howard University School of Divinity where she provided management oversight for student services, including recruitment, admissions, retention, scholarships, and student programming. Prior, she has served as the Director of Graduate Student Services at the Kogod School of Business at AU where she was responsible for academic degree program management, academic advising, and student retention. She also worked closely with the Admissions and Student Programming units in recruitment, admissions, new student orientation, and student programming activities. She has earlier experience as the Director of the Student Support Services Program (a Federal TRIO program) at Montgomery College, as a College Admissions and Retention Advisor at the DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), and as an Advanced Academic Counselor at the University of Maryland University College.
Earlier in Claretta's career, she held positions in consulting, information technology, and business process improvement. Claretta earned her M.A. degree in Counseling (Specialization: Student Development in Higher Education) from Trinity University (DC) and her B.A. degree in Psychology and Elementary Education from Washington University in St. Louis. Claretta’s goal is to enhance the student experience and to achieve the vision of “a vibrant and richly diverse, inclusive, equitable, and antiracist learning community.”