Craig Edelbrock joined the Graduate School Sept. 12 as associate dean.
Edelbrock comes to UGA from Pennsylvania State University, where he served for 14 years on the faculty of the human development and family studies department and in various leadership roles, most recently as director of graduate studies for that department.
“The Graduate School will benefit so much from his experience as an advocate for graduate education,” says Maureen Grasso, dean of the Graduate School. “He brings to us new perspectives in student recruitment and mentoring, fellowship support and time-to-degree factors. We look forward to his making an immediate and positive impact here.”
As associate dean at the UGA Graduate School, Edelbrock’s responsibilities include providing leadership for graduate student recruitment, retention and completion in addition to working closely with graduate coordinators across campus and the Graduate Council on questions of curriculum, policy, procedures and student affairs. He also assists in managing fiscal matters including the awarding of Graduate School assistantships, awards, scholarships and tuition waivers.
“Education is about maximizing human potential and that is particularly true of graduate education,” Edelbrock says. “UGA is poised to take a national leadership role in innovations in graduate training. I am thrilled to play a part in achieving such important goals.”
Edelbrock earned a Ph.D. in human development and family studies in 1976 from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1973 from Western Washington State College. Before beginning his faculty career, he served as a staff fellow at the Laboratory of Developmental Psychology at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. He also has been a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts.
His noted work includes researching the development of social, emotional and behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence and the improvement of methods for assessment and classification in child mental health research and clinical work. As a graduate administrator, he plans to help increase quality and diversity in UGA’s graduate student population, broaden funding and fellowship opportunities and improve completion rates of graduate students while reducing the time it requires them to complete their degrees.
Edelbrock also has a faculty appointment in the child and family development department of UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences.