Paula McClain to Be the First African American Dean of a School at Duke University

Paula D. McClain was named dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education at Duke University. She is a professor of political science at Duke and is the former chair of the university’s Academic Council. She joined the Duke faculty in 2000. Previously, Professor McClain taught at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Arizona State University, and the University of Virginia.

She will be the first African American to serve as a dean of one of Duke’s schools.  “Paula McClain is a distinguished scholar and outstanding university citizen whose work as a graduate mentor has been widely acclaimed,” said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead. “With her belief in the importance of graduate education and her concern for the well-being of individual students, she will make an exceptional dean.”

Professor McClain holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in political science, all from Howard University in Washington, D.C.