Former Provost Carol J. Erting receives award

The American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD) has selected Dr. Carol J. Erting as the recipient of its fourth annual Award for Excellence in Academic Leadership. This award recognizes individuals who exemplify excellence in academic leadership through shaping and supporting positive change on their campuses and in their communities.

Dr. Erting served as Provost from 2014 to 2020, and continues to be the longest serving faculty member at Gallaudet. According to ACAD, “Her tenure was a period of great change at Gallaudet, including the welcoming of a new President, introduction of new programs, and development of new initiatives. She was instrumental in diversifying Academic Affairs, ensuring that 50 percent of deans were people of color, and that every effort was made to recruit and hire faculty of color. As a hearing woman serving an institution with a mission to empower deaf and hard of hearing individuals, Dr. Erting ensured that deaf people could move up into administrative and managerial roles within Academic Affairs. She worked with the Faculty Senate and Faculty Governance to amend the Faculty Handbook to be more welcoming of diversity and innovation within the faculty ranks. The percentage of new faculty of color hires increased from less than 10% before her tenure to 50% this year, all due to her efforts to diversify the Gallaudet faculty.”

“Dr. Erting brought four decades of dedicated service as a scholar, research scientist, faculty member, and administrator to the role of Provost. During her six years in this role, her accumulated institutional knowledge, her breadth and depth of experience, and most of all, her passion for the university, its mission, and its students, served her — and us — well. We were most fortunate to have Dr. Erting’s leadership and express our utmost appreciation to her for her commitment to excellence in academics and research,” says Dr. Khadijat Rashid, Interim Dean of the Faculty at Gallaudet and the nominator for this Award.

“I am honored and humbled to accept this award from ACAD for excellence in academic leadership,” wrote Dr. Erting. “The accomplishments we were able to achieve during my six-year tenure as Provost were the result of an academic leadership team committed to the success of our students and the unique mission of Gallaudet University. Together, we did the hard work of shared governance, we stayed focused on our values of equity, diversity, and inclusive excellence, and we didn’t give up on our collective vision. I am very grateful to have had the privilege of working with such principled, creative, and committed leaders.”

ACAD will present Dr. Erting with the award during its annual meeting in January 2021. Congratulations!