Bruce Weitzel, PhD

Associate Dean and Professor, School of Education

Bruce Weitzel began his career in education with the help of his own teachers. “Educators are always the product of other educators,” he says, “Especially those who have modeled their passion for learning and listening. The educators who drew me into schools and the classroom were dedicated to engaging with ideas and with people.”

His passion for learning and teaching has led him during his time in the education field. As such, he has left a lasting mark on local schools, both at the K-12 and collegiate levels. He received his MS in Educational Counseling from Portland State University and went on to get a PhD in Educational Administration from Michigan State University, where he received the Outstanding Educational Administration Student award in 1980. In 1981, he worked with Portland State University as an assistant professor to review and improve the school’s sex equity programs and desegregation practices. He then served as Assistant Principal in two Beaverton high schools before going on to be Principal at Meadow Park, Beaverton, and Sunset High Schools.

He came to UP in 2004, where he initially taught as an adjunct instructor for the school of Education. He was recommended by his former colleague Dr. Tom Greene, the then-associate dean of the School of Education. “As a high school principal, I had interviewed several UP graduates as they sought teaching positions at my school district’s schools,” he says. “I was always impressed with the UP candidates’ professional demeanor, their excitement about continuing their growth and learning, and their commitment to service. [It] enticed me to want to be part of a school of education that promoted and produced such quality teaching candidates.” He went on to teach ten different education courses in four locations, from Roseburg to Guam. He became an assistant professor in 2005, and assistant dean in 2006, a role he held until 2011, when he was appointed the Associate Dean of the College of Education.

In addition to his deanship, he has provided consultation and led workshops for educators in Oregon and Utah and has received appointments to several prestigious Oregon education communities, including serving as President of the Oregon Professors of Education Administration from 2009-2010. The heart of his work, though, is always focused on teachers and their students, and making UP students into the next generation of top-tier educators.

As for his plans after retirement, he’s looking forward to “living the good life, inside and outside of books.” But he’s not planning on being too far from UP and the School of Education’s next chapter. “I’m committing time to promoting and supporting candidates of diversity and promise,” he says.