Port Washington resident Bobbie Kabuto was appointed dean of Queens College’s School of Education, a highly regarded teacher-training program in the City University of New York system, where she has taught since 2006 and served as interim dean since 2022.
Kabuto said she is “proud and excited” to be named dean and will prepare graduates to work in diverse urban communities.
“Having served the Queens College community for almost two decades, I am deeply committed to the equity-minded and inclusive mission of the college,” Kabuto said in a press release. “I look forward to fostering a progressive community of learners and leaders grounded in social justice, advocacy, and the School of Education’s conceptual framework that centers on Equity, Excellence, and Ethics.”
In her role as dean, Kabuto will be responsible for enhancing the school’s profile, visibility and effectiveness, developing plans and managing the school’s faculty, budget and academic program planning.
“She will also work to foster a high-quality environment of academic teaching, research and intellectual achievement, and create and strengthen partnerships within and outside the college as a strong advocate,” according to the press release.
Kabuto is a tenured professor and previously served as chair of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education She is also president of the Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking.
“I am so pleased that Dr. Bobbie Kabuto will become Queens College’s permanent dean of the School of Education,” Provost Patricia Price said. “The quality of her vision and leadership have been apparent from the outset of her time as interim dean, and I only expect these to strengthen as she transitions into the permanent position.”
Price added: “Dean Kabuto brings a fresh perspective tempered by her 17 years of service to the college. Based on the feedback gathered by (executive search firm) Witt/Kieffer across all stakeholder groups, Dean Kabuto rose to the top of an outstanding group of national finalists for the position.”
As chair of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Kabuto guided faculty through the tumults of the pandemic by helping transition to remote teaching and then back to the classrooms.
In this position, she managed the department’s budget, coordinated grant-related partnerships and organized curriculum updates. She also welcomed an 11% increase in undergraduate enrollment for the major.
Kabuto received a bachelor’s of science in biology with a concentration in education from the University of Richmond in Virginia, a master’s of science in education and later a Ph.D. in reading, language and cognition from Hofstra University.
Kabuto’s research has resulted in 23 articles in scholarly journals and 13 chapters in books, focusing on reading, literacy and bilingual learners. She has written two books and edited or co-edited five.
She received the 2019 United Kingdom Literacy Association/Wiley Research in Literacy Education Award for her article “Family Narratives of Biliteracy,” published in Literacy.
“We are delighted that Professor Kabuto has accepted this appointment,” Queens College President Frank H. Wu said. “The School of Education is a large and dynamic part of our institution and it holds central importance to our mission as a public institution. She has both the scholarly depth and proven administrative skill and initiative to lead it.”
