Claudia A. Petrescu named dean of graduate education at Oakland University

ROCHESTER, Mich. - June 17, 2015 - PRLog -- Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost James Lentini announced the appointment of Claudia A. Petrescu, Ph.D., as dean of graduate education. Her tenure will begin officially on Monday, Aug. 10, 2015.

Presently a professor of public administration and nonprofit management at Eastern Michigan University, Dr. Petrescu has taken an active role in teaching, research and curriculum development. Her work has included serving as faculty associate for policies and procedure, and as assistant to the Dean of College of Arts and Sciences for strategic planning.

In her role as dean, she will continue to hone her leadership and planning skills by fostering a culture of service to graduate students and academic units at Oakland. She will also develop new strategies for recruitment, enrollment and retention of a diverse student body; oversee initiatives to maintain and enhance program quality; and work to broaden awareness and recognition of OU's graduate program strengths.

Dr. Petrescu comes uniquely qualified to take on these challenges and more, particularly in light of the experience and expertise she has acquired during a highly successful career in academia.

From 2004-2014, she served as director of EMU's National Leadership Alliance program, which prepares students to succeed in nonprofit organizations. In this position, she developed enrollment initiatives that led to increased enrollments, helped establish new programs such as the Nonprofit Leadership Excellence Training Series, and led fundraising processes for three endowments. She worked collaboratively to develop and create new curriculum, including a public and nonprofit administration major, nonprofit administration minor and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management.

Dr. Petrescu is a former co-director of the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Communities, a position through which she worked with faculty to explore research opportunities, developed grants and supervised the university’s Autism Collaborative Center.

From 2007-2009, Dr. Petrescu served as interim head of EMU's Department of Political Science. Her research focuses on the nonprofit field, and she has worked on numerous grant-funded projects, delivered peer-reviewed presentations, and authored and co-authored peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Petrescu holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a Master of Social and Public Policy from Duquesne University. She also earned two degrees in Romania – a Master of Economics from Babes-Bolyai University and a post-graduate degree in international relations from the National School of Public Administration and International Relations.