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People & Programs: UCLA Dean of Continuing Education and Extension Wayne Smutz to Retire

October 12, 2018

Dr. Wayne Smutz, Dean of Continuing Education and Extension at the University of California, Los Angeles, has announced that he is retiring effective October 31, 2018.

Smutz has served as the Dean of Continuing Education and UCLA Extension since October 2013. UCLA Extension is the continuing education division of the University of California, Los Angeles. Courses range from business, arts, engineering, and IT to entertainment studies, public policy, public health, the humanities, and more. Each year, nearly 2,000 UCLA Extension students graduate from more than 170 certificate programs.

With over 38,000 students, UCLA Extension offers more than 5,000 classes and programs per year. UCLA Extension serves the professional development, continuing education, and personal enrichment needs of alumni and professionals and the employees of public and private companies in Los Angeles, the U.S. as well as internationally. As Dean, Smutz led the academic, financial, and operational efforts of this self-supporting enterprise, which delivers programs via face-to-face, online, and hybrid methodologies.

Prior to joining UCLA in 2013, Smutz spent more than 30 years at Penn State Outreach in a variety of roles, most recently as Executive Director of the World Campus. Smutz’s involvement with UPCEA spanned the association, and he most recently served as the association’s 2017-18 President.

A native Californian, Smutz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with a BA in History from the University of California at Berkeley, and the recipient of an MA in political science, along with a Ph.D. in higher education, both from Penn State.