DANBURY, CONN. — Dr. Barry Eckert has been appointed interim dean of the School of Professional Studies at Western Connecticut State University.
Eckert began his new position at WCSU on Sept. 4, 2018. The school provides academic preparation for professional careers through the wide range of bachelor’s and advanced degree programs offered by the departments of Education and Educational Psychology, Nursing, Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences, and Social Work.
“Western Connecticut State University is an extraordinary opportunity for me,” Eckert said. “The programs in the School of Professional Studies are both exciting and strong, and I look forward to being part of the future of the school and the university.”
Eckert has been dean of the School of Health Professions at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University since 2007. In that position, he was responsible for strategic planning and oversight of 16 health-related programs and two clinics at LIU Brooklyn, leading a school that has experienced a threefold increase in enrollment to 1,850 during his administration. He established collaborative relationships with several hospitals in New York City, promoted an inter-professional education initiative in cooperation with the LIU nursing and pharmacy programs, and successfully obtained $2.6 million in federal scholarship assistance for disadvantaged students pursuing the Master of Social Work degree.
Eckert served from 2001 to 2007 as dean of the College of Health Professions at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, where he held oversight responsibility for 13 academic departments and managed an expansion that more than doubled total enrollment to 1,225. He also participated in statewide health care workforce initiatives as an administrator in the University System of Georgia and participated in several organizations focusing on cancer research, treatment and prevention.
Eckert previously served as associate provost at the State University of New York at Buffalo from 1999 to 2000, focusing on development of university-wide blended and distance learning programs. He began his career in academic administration as associate dean from 1994 to 1995 and interim dean from 1995 to 1999 of the School of Health Related Professions at SUNY Buffalo. He also served for 24 years as a member of the faculty of the School of Medical and Biomedical Sciences at SUNY Buffalo, including his tenure from 1983 to 2001 as an associate professor of anatomy and cell biology.
Eckert earned his Ph.D. in Anatomy at the University of Miami School of Medicine, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology at SUNY Albany.
Eckert has been an author and contributor of more than 70 articles, chapters and abstracts published in research journals and presented at professional conferences over the past four decades. He has been a member of the board of directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs since 2011 and was recently elected treasurer of the organization. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions and the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors. He was previously a director on the board of the Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition, and has held various leadership positions with the American Cancer Society and other organizations in the health professions in New York and Georgia.
Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.