
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 11, 1994                   TAG: 9410110120
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

TECH NAMES NEW DEAN OF STUDENTS

Cathryn T. Goree, who will become Virginia Tech's dean of students in January, hopes to make good use of her expertise in research, substance abuse prevention, student policy development and grant writing in her new position. The appointment of Goree - currently the director for the Center for Alcohol and Drug Education at Mississippi State University - came Monday from Tom Goodale, Tech's vice president for student affairs.

As dean of students, Goree's main responsibility will be as a students advocate.

"It is a wonderful opportunity," Goree said from her office at Mississippi State, where's she's worked in student affairs since 1987. She said she's also aware that her predecessor, Beverly Sgro, could be a tough act to follow. Sgro is Virginia's Secretary of Education.

Goree, 44, said the mention of research skills in an announcement of the job opening was one of the things that motivated her to apply at Tech, which she described as "universally highly regarded."

As dean of students, Goree said she plans to apply her research skills to assess Tech's accountability as an educational institution "to parents, students and taxpayers, to show what we have done," she said, adding that she believes in documenting "successes and failures alike."

Policy development is a key part of her job, Goree said, and research to assess student outcomes and evaluate programs provides a good basis to establish policy.

Goree also called alcohol abuse "probably the number one factor in student health," and said her skill in the area of substance abuse is one of the strengths she brings to the position. At Mississippi State, she helped develop sexual assault and substance abuse programs and policies.

Goree thinks her solid track record of securing grant money also could come in handy in her new post. "In higher education in general, funding is always a problem," she said. Her successes have totaled more than $440,000 to date, including more than $200,000 in federal grants for substance abuse prevention and to develop a comprehensive history of women at Mississippi State.

Prior to holding her current job, she was associate director of the admissions office, and an assistant professor in counselor education and educational psychology.

Goree holds a master's and a doctorate from Mississippi State. She has a bachelor's degree in German from the University of Texas at Austin.

She is married and the mother of three children.

by CNB