Dr. Latoya Pierce has been named interim dean of the School of Education at St. Bonaventure University. She replaces Dr. Lisa Buenaventura, who retired May 31.

Pierce had been program director since 2019 for SBU’s online master’s program in counselor education, which has become the university’s largest academic program — graduate or undergraduate. She also was SBU’s CACREP accreditation liaison. 

“I can’t thank Dr. Pierce enough for taking on this responsibility,” said Dr. Joseph Zimmer, acting president. “Latoya has significant administrative experience in higher education, and the work she’s done to manage our rapidly growing online counselor education program has been impressive.”

Pierce serves on SBU’s President’s Commission on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Since 2004, Pierce has held administrative and teaching positions at Loyola University in New Orleans, University of New Orleans, Arkansas State, Walden University and Louisiana Tech.

Pierce’s previous administrative posts include program director, field site coordinator, associate department chair, and director of Academic Effectiveness and Program Administration. She has chaired and served on multiple dissertation committees. 

Pierce was a member of Louisiana Tech’s institutional review board for seven years, many of which she served as the expediter for all social science research proposals. She has served as a subject matter expert in diversity for the Louisiana State University system, as well as a cultural and linguistic specialist at Arkansas State University. 

Pierce earned a Ph.D. in counselor education from New Orleans, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Loyola in counseling and psychology, respectively.

She serves on five boards in Ruston, Louisiana, that are focused on advocacy, the arts, and community engagement, and continues to see clients as a mental health therapist.

A search committee for a School of Education dean is being formed this summer.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2020, St. Bonaventure was named the #2 regional university value in New York and #3 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.