About the Dean

A respected scholar and long-time academic leader, Dr. Mia Tuan assumed the deanship of the University of Washington College of Education on July 1, 2015.

Tuan comes from the University of Oregon, where she was a professor of sociology and education studies. She served as interim dean of UO’s College of Education from 2013 to 2014. She previously served as associate dean of UO's Graduate School, director of its Center on Diversity & Community, and director of the sociology department’s honors program. Tuan joined UO's sociology faculty in 1996, and in 2007 joined the College of Education. Tuan has won numerous academic awards, including the 2012 Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) and Education Testing Services (ETS) Award for Excellence and Innovation, for Diversifying Graduate Education in STEM Disciplines.

Tuan's research focuses on racial and ethnic identity development, Asian transracial adoption, and majority/minority relations. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and three books, Choosing Ethnicity, Negotiating Race: Korean Adoptees in America; Prejudice in Politics: Group Position, Public Opinion and the Wisconsin Treaty Rights Dispute; and Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites? The Contemporary Asian Ethnic Experience.

Message from Dean Tuan

At the University of Washington College of Education, we believe that every child in every school deserves an outstanding education. Our faculty, students and alumni work every day to achieve that vision by addressing the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps that exist in our schools.

Bold, break-out thinking is at the heart of our work. Our researchers are partnering with Washington’s most challenging, poverty-impacted schools and moving inside them to work side-by-side with educators as we connect research with practice. Our students are embedded in local schools to gain hands-on experience as they prepare to be future educators, leaders, researchers and advocates.

The impact of this work has already established the College of Education — rated among the Top 10 education schools by U.S. News and World Report — as one of the most practice-based, research-rigorous education institutions in the nation. We are innovating on all fronts. From preparing teachers for the rigorous new Next Generation Science Standards that will change the way science is taught in America’s classrooms to introducing social-emotional learning into daily school lessons to our innovative fast-track teacher education programs, UW is tackling the most pressing problems facing America's schools.

We are committed to doing work that is relevant to our communities, to our schools, to our districts and to our well-being as a nation. Together with our partners, we will move entire education systems forward so that all children are prepared to thrive.