{"id":179335,"date":"2021-11-16T15:54:14","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T20:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=179335"},"modified":"2021-11-16T15:54:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T20:54:14","slug":"in-memoriam-dean-emeritus-mark-shibles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2021\/11\/in-memoriam-dean-emeritus-mark-shibles\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: Dean Emeritus Mark Shibles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark R. Shibles of Wilton, Maine, a former dean and professor emeritus of the Neag School of Education, was a highly respected scholar and leader in educational leadership and policy. With his passing on Aug. 24, 2021<\/a>, at 83, the Neag School honors Shibles\u2019 impact and his legacy.<\/p>\n

Leading as the Dean<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Mark
Mark Shibles, who had a 40-year career at UConn, served as dean of the school of education from 1975 to 1987. (Photo courtesy of the Shibles Family)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shibles had a 40-year career at UConn that included serving as dean of the School of Education<\/a> from 1975 to 1987, a faculty member in educational leadership until his retirement in the mid-2000s, and an advisor for more than 130 Ph.D. students.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs dean, he was well-liked and respected by faculty and staff, and he created an academic foundation that enhanced the national visibility and esteem of our School and our faculty, ultimately leading to highly regarded national rankings,\u201d says Thomas DeFranco<\/a>, professor emeritus and former dean of the Neag School.<\/p>\n

Known for his very sharp and dry sense of humor, keen intellect, and outstanding leadership qualities, Shibles was recognized by principals and superintendents across the nation and developed policies that set the standard for effective administrative leadership at the K-12 level.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis leadership helped the Neag School reach prominent status,\u201d says Casey Cobb<\/a>, Neag Professor of Educational Policy.<\/p>\n

Shibles was a main reason Cobb says he took a position at UConn. Shibles, he says, had a \u201cstrong commitment to bettering the lives and children and uplifting communities through education \u2026 and it was a real draw to work alongside him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMark\u2019s legacy lives on in those who had the privilege of coming in contact with him.\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Casey Cobb, Neag Professor of Educational Policy<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Looking back at Shibles\u2019 50-year career in education, which included teaching high school history, Cobb recalls how Shibles made significant contributions to the field of educational leadership and policy through his research, advocacy, teaching, and advising.<\/p>\n

At the national and international levels, Shibles served on the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and was president of the National Association of Colleges and Schools of Education in State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and Affiliated Private Universities.<\/p>\n

Cobb was impressed by Shibles\u2019 ability to make connections in the field. \u201cMaintaining relationships was important to him. He cared about the people he came in contact with, and his actions showed it,\u201d Cobb says.<\/p>\n

Even as a busy dean, and later as a professor, some days Shibles would get in his car and drive to see superintendents across the state. Most were current or former students with whom he kept in touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brought the administrators valuable information and direction,\u201d says Mary Anne Doyle, professor emerita in curriculum and instruction. \u201cHe was also really respected by the State Department of Education. In addition, Shibles and the commissioner were very respectful of one another. Because of that, Mark had quite an impact on education at the state level as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a respected, go-to person, and educational leaders trusted his opinions and his insights.\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mary Anne Doyle, Professor Emerita<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMark was an intelligent, very thoughtful, and a quiet leader,\u201d she adds. \u201cHe was a respected, go-to person, and educational leaders trusted his opinions and his insights.\u201d<\/p>\n

UConn Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors Joseph Renzulli<\/a> and Sally Reis<\/a> recall Shibles helping them in their work in gifted and talented education.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark took a personal interest in advancing the research of the faculty,\u201d they say. \u201cOn one occasion, he arranged an important meeting with the Connecticut Commissioner of Education and several state superintendents of schools. This meeting resulted in research that changed guidelines for expanding the criteria for identifying gifted and talented students for participation in special enrichment programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dean Emeritus and Raymond Neag Endowed Professor of Educational Leadership Richard Schwab<\/a> describes Shibles as always strategizing behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was forward-thinking, an educator who understood what it took to lead complex organizations,\u201d says Schwab. \u201cShibles pretty much went about his business and was very smart. He knew how to work politics and to work politically, and he had great relationships with the education commissioner because he was respected and thoughtful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was forward-thinking, an educator who understood what it took to lead complex organizations.\u201d\u00a0\u2014 Richard Schwab,\u00a0Dean Emeritus<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While serving as dean, Shibles was also superintendent of E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut. E.O. Smith, located next to UConn Storrs, provided the opportunity for partnerships, research, and hands-on training for Neag School teacher education students. E.O. Smith would later become part of a school district, versus being managed through the Neag School, but it was something of which Shibles was proud.<\/p>\n

During his deanship, he also was interested in expanding the School of Education\u2019s educational leadership and policy expertise. \u201cThere was no real policy analysis center in Connecticut. So, Shibles founded the center, and we tried to turn it into a regional policy center for New England and the land grants. We worked hard at that,\u201d says Schwab.<\/p>\n

Establishing the center, says Cobb, \u201cfulfilled a career-long desire\u201d for Shibles. \u201cHe was among the first educational leaders to see the importance of policy and its potential impact to make lives better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMark was heavily devoted to low-income communities, whether in urban Connecticut or rural Maine. So much of his policy work targeted those areas, as he was always looking out for those at a structural disadvantage and finding ways to empower them,\u201d adds Cobb.<\/p>\n

One project that Shibles worked on through the Neag School\u2019s Center for Education Policy Center was helping to develop a 2011 report titled \u201cNextEd: Transforming Connecticut\u2019s Education System<\/a>,\u201d which provided recommendations to the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents on revising its vision of schooling and social, economic, and political systems.<\/p>\n

The center, Cobb says, \u201cis thriving today because of Mark\u2019s leadership and vision, and it has Mark\u2019s signature all over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now known as the Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation<\/a> (CEPARE), the Center brings together faculty and graduate students to conduct research and advocate for policies that improve learning opportunities and environments for individuals and their communities.<\/p>\n

Making an Impact Through Mentoring <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shibles was also known for lifting the people around him, helping launch and advance their careers. For example, during his deanship during the 1970s, Shibles hired one of UConn\u2019s first African American associate deans, David Carter. Carter would later become president<\/a> of Eastern Connecticut State University, the first African American to lead a four-year institution of higher education in New England.<\/p>\n

As an advisor to numerous Ph.D. students, Shibles was known to stay in touch. Former doctoral student and former superintendent Bob Villanova<\/a>, now a faculty member in the educational leadership department, recalls how Shibles made sure Villanova finished his doctoral work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an active principal in West Hartford, and I kind of lost track of my work,\u201d recalls Villanova. \u201cMark reached out to me and pulled me back in, got me back involved to ensure that I stayed on track and finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Villanova attributes completing his Ph.D. to Shibles. \u201cThe most important thing for me was the way he operated as I finished my coursework. He was influential in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Shibles shied away from being in the spotlight and was known for being a behind-the-scenes leader, he committed to building leadership capacity among the people he worked with and advised.<\/p>\n

Known as an influential professor, all the educational leadership doctoral students sought to take his courses. \u201cThat was one of the important hurdles to get through and benefit from,\u201d recalls Villanova.<\/p>\n

A former doctoral student, Schwab recalls Shibles walking the halls with his hands in his pockets, always deep in thought. \u201cOne of my first memories of him as a professor was that he was someone who asked tough questions,\u201d says Schwab. \u201cHis classes were nondirective, getting the students to talk, but he would ask the critical questions to make you stop and think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they write the history of the Neag School of Education, Mark will be remembered as one of the most influential educators in its history, and one who provided the leadership that set the School on its current trajectory as one of the top schools of education in the nation,\u201d says DeFranco. \u201cHe will be missed by all who knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt remarkable to think of the hundreds of students Mark had in class and advised over his career, how much influence he had on them as individuals and professionals, and then the ripple effects of these relationships \u2013 the countless school children and families ultimately impacted,\u201d says Cobb.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark\u2019s legacy is limitless and enduring,\u201d Cobb adds. \u201cMark\u2019s legacy lives on in those who had the privilege of coming in contact with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

To honor Shibles\u2019 memory, gifts can be made to the Mark R. Shibles Graduate Fellowship. For more information, contact Marcy Jarzabek at MJarzabek@foundation.uconn.edu<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark R. Shibles of Wilton, Maine, a former dean and professor emeritus of the Neag School of Education, was a highly respected scholar in educational leadership and policy. With his passing in August, the Neag School honors Shibles\u2019 impact and his legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":50011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1879],"class_list":["post-179335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 20:52:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179335"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179339,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179335\/revisions\/179339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/50011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179335"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=179335"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=179335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}