Shannon will serve third term at Graham

Now in his 10th year as Dean of the William B. and Catherine V. Graham School of General Studies, Daniel Shannon has been reappointed to serve a third term as Dean, effective in September.

“We are pleased that Dan has agreed to serve another five-year term,” said Provost Richard Saller. “The renewal process confirmed that he is highly respected in the world of continuing education, and that he is initiating new applied professional degree programs at the University,” he added.

A former national president of the University Continuing Education Association, Shannon has actively worked to make the Graham School a recognized resource for adult professionals seeking continuing education opportunities and has been a facilitator of community outreach. Today, the Graham School’s residential and travel programs draw top high school students from around the United States for summer classes and travel study in Europe. Meanwhile, Shannon has worked to secure key partnerships between the Graham School and major cultural institutions in Chicago.

“I’m very pleased to have the renewed opportunity to continue the development of new programmatic directions for the Graham School, while reaffirming the value of the school’s present programs to the broader community,” said Shannon, who prior to coming to Chicago in 1996 had been dean of continuing education at both the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and California State University in Dominguez Hills, Carson, Calif.

During his tenure here, Shannon has shepherded the Graham School’s development of 14 new multi-course certificate programs. Today, more than 11,000 adults annually participate in Graham School credit and noncredit programs.

Shannon has been instrumental in building the school’s reputation and in raising its profile even higher nationally. In 1997, he won UCEA’s prestigious Julius M. Knolte Award for extraordinary contributions to continuing education. He also has written widely on the subject and even served as editor of The Continuing Higher Education Review.

A 1968 graduate of the University of Washington, Shannon earned a B.A. in Slavic Studies. He continued his education in Seattle, Wash., and earned an M.A. in 1968 and a Ph.D. in 1979, both in political science. Along the way, he also worked for the University, serving in several administrative roles involving continuing education. Later, Shannon was named a Kellogg Fellow at the University of Oxford.