Sylvia Gaiko, a professor in the Applied Human Services Department at Western Kentucky University with extensive experience in academic administration, has been selected to serve as the dean of Indiana University of Pennsylvania's College of Health and Human Services.
“Dr. Gaiko brings a great deal to the table,” IUP Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Timothy Moerland said. “She's had success in the classroom, she's led planning and program development efforts, accreditation reaffirmations, served as an associate dean, and has been successful in securing and managing extramural funding. She's published in the field of student success and strategic planning and has presented at international conferences. I feel confident she will be a great fit for the role of dean of the College of Health and Human Services.”
Gaiko will begin work at IUP on July 1, 2019.
“As we welcome Dr. Gaiko, I want to offer my sincere appreciation to Dr. Mary Williams, who has offered exemplary service as the dean of the College,” Moerland said.
Williams is planning her retirement from IUP in 2019.
Gaiko served as associate vice president for Planning and Program Development in the Office of the Provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at WKU for the past eight years. In this role, she provided leadership for curriculum, program development, and articulation agreements. She worked closely with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to develop and implement policies that support student success at WKU and across the state. She served as a student ombudsperson and worked to assist faculty and administration in new and revised initiatives that enhanced student success while supporting the university's vision, mission, and strategic plan.
“I'm honored to be selected to serve as the CHHS dean with the fine faculty, staff, administration, and community at IUP,” Gaiko said. “I welcome the opportunity to build on the many successes of CHHS at IUP.”
Prior to that work, she served as associate dean in the WKU College of Health and Human Services for six years, responsible for student academic affairs in the college, including academic advisement, retention, monitoring academic performance, and conducting academic status review. During her tenure, both graduate and undergraduate enrollments increased.
She came to WKU following her service as director of Undergraduate Programs and Industry Relations in the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program at the University of Missouri–Columbia.
Prior to that work, she held several faculty roles, including graduate coordinator, in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, College of Human Environmental Sciences, at Oklahoma State University. While there, she was the co-investigator on a $500,000, federally funded project with the Department of Health and Human Services focused on Native American employability skills and developed the graduate program and an educational program for students from Japan. She received the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award during her work there.
Gaiko received her bachelor's degree and master's degree from WKU and her PhD, all in home economics education, from Oklahoma State University.