Longtime education professor named new dean of honors college
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Dr. Gary H. Bischof, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, has been named the new dean of Western Michigan University's Lee Honors College, effective Jan. 1.
A WMU faculty member since 1999, Bischof taught in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology for 13 years before taking the position of interim chair in his current department in 2012. He was named chair in 2014. Both departments are part of the College of Education and Human Development.
Bischof's background includes clinical and research experience and publication in a number of counseling and family therapy journals. He has been the advisor and doctoral committee chair for 11 successful doctoral candidates in counselor education. He also has served as a doctoral committee member for a number of other counselor education and counseling psychology students.
"Gary Bischof brings energy and a genuine commitment to honors education to the role of dean of this important college," said Dr. Timothy Greene, WMU provost and vice president for academic affairs, in announcing the appointment. "His long track record of guiding top students through their research and degree requirements will serve him well in this vital post."
Bischof's own research and writing has focused on the topics of collaborative family health care, brief solution-oriented treatment and couple therapy. The author of numerous book chapters and articles for refereed journals, Bischof has presented his work at conferences around the world.
He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Bethany College, and master's and doctoral degrees in marriage and family therapy from Virginia Tech and Purdue universities, respectively.
"I enthusiastically welcome the opportunity to work with the stellar students, faculty and staff of the Lee Honors College," Bischof says. "We will work together to brighten the gold beacon of undergraduate academic excellence at WMU."
Bischof, whose appointment was made pending approval by the WMU Board of Trustees, replaces Dr. Carla Koretsky, who left the honors college to assume the role of dean of WMU's College of Arts and Sciences on July 1. Since then, Jane Baas, associate dean of the honors college and professor of dance, has served as interim dean of the college.
Lee Honors College
In operation for 54 years this fall, WMU's Lee Honors College is one of America's oldest and most highly regarded collegiate honors programs, with a student profile rivaling that of the most elite private colleges in the United States.
It serves as academic home to nearly 1,800 talented and highly motivated members, or nearly 8 percent of the University's undergraduate student body. These students come from around the nation and are enrolled in disciplines across the campus.
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