Corey named dean of University College

Frederick Corey is a proven leader at ASU, most recently serving as the director of the new School of Letters and Sciences at the Downtown Phoenix campus.

Now, Corey is taking on a new challenge with his appointment as dean of University College.

“Fred Corey’s leadership within ASU – and particularly at the Downtown Phoenix campus – has been an important factor in the university’s advancement in a number of areas,” says ASU President Michael Crow. “I look forward to seeing how he will use his expanded role to benefit the students, faculty and staff of University College.”

Corey will serve as dean of University College and remain as the director of the School of Letters and Sciences, which offers a core of liberal arts classes and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.

“Dr. Corey's strong leadership and creative thinking about student success will be an asset to University College,” says Elizabeth D. Capaldi, ASU’s executive vice president and provost. “He brings tremendous enthusiasm to his work and will be a key player in increasing student retention.

University College primarily serves ASU exploratory students who have not yet decided on a major. One of Corey’s primary goals as dean is to focus on promoting academic advisement to the ASU community to ensure that exploratory students are aware of the wide variety of resources available through the university that can help them decide on a major.

“ASU offers more than 250 majors, and we will be working with the colleges, schools, departments and programs to help students select the right major in a timely manner,” Corey says. “Choosing the right major can motivate a student to do well in classes, graduate on time and plan a great career path. We will work as a team to invigorate the advising for exploratory students. We’ll promote eAdvisor, create a ‘cool major of the day’ campaign, interface academic advising with Blackboard and other technologies and develop new strategies to assist students in selecting their majors.”

Besides using academic advisement, University College students also can take advantage of courses tailored toward deciding on a degree and use online tools such as the Kuder Career Planning System, which helps students pinpoint how their interests, abilities and values relate to different majors and careers. The college is located on all four ASU campuses and serves about 5,000 students.

As he takes on a new role as dean, Corey also is grateful to be a part of the larger ASU community.

“ASU is an extraordinary university,” he says. “President Crow and Provost Capaldi are designing an institution that will change the future of higher education. I am proud to be part of it.”

During his career at ASU, Corey has served on the faculty in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and as associate dean of the College of Public Programs, director of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and senior associate dean of University College. His research and instruction endeavors focus on communication and culture, with emphases on ethnographic writing, cultural performance and narrative.
Corey’s articles have appeared in Text and Performance Quarterly, Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory, Western Journal of Communication, Communication Studies, and Communication and the Disenfranchised. His work in HIV education has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Corey replaces Gail Hackett, who has accepted the position of provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A farewell reception for Hackett will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Jan. 29, in Old Main’s Carson Ballroom.