Eboni Zamani-Gallaher is the new dean of Pitt’s School of Education

Pitt has appointed Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher as the new Renèe and Richard Goldman Dean of the School of Education.

Since Zamani-Gallaher joined Pitt in 2022, her scholarship has secured nearly $10.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations. She stepped into her new position May 1 following a rigorous national search led by Vice Provost Lu-in Wang and School of Social Work Dean Betsy Farmer.

Before she became interim dean in August, Zamani-Gallaher was a professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations and Policy. Her research areas include equitable participation in higher education, transfer and retention policies and racial equity in postsecondary pathways.

“Eboni’s exceptional experience and expertise — and her demonstrated and deep dedication to the mission-vision of the School of Education and the work of its faculty, students, staff and alumni — make her the ideal choice for charting the course for the school’s next chapter,” said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Joseph McCarthy in a May 6 announcement.

Zamani-Gallaher earned her doctorate in educational organization and leadership from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Education, where she was a professor and the director of the Office for Community College Research and Leadership. Additionally, she served as associate head of Illinois’ Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership and as associate dean of its Graduate College.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Zamani-Gallaher holds leadership positions in several professional organizations, such as the executive director of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges and the president-elect of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

She’s also a member of the Community College Review Editorial Board, an advisory board member for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and a committee member with the Black Learner Excellence Expert Advisory Committee. 

— Donovan Harrell