The Office of the Academic Dean was created in 1948. The first Academic Dean was Sr. Jutta Hollenbeck and she was succeeded by Sr. J. Dolores Brunner (formerly Sr. M. Providencia) and Sr. Bernarda Handrup. Robert G. Pitman became Alverno's fourth Academic Dean and the first lay person to hold that title in 1974. Robert Pitman was Academic Dean during a time of great change at Alverno. During his tenure the Center for Instructional Communication (CIC) was established and the Business and Management Department was created in 1976; Weekend College was instituted and the Professional Communication Department was created in 1977. Also in 1977, no longer running in parallel with the older credit-based curriculum, the competence-based learning (CBL) curriculum (now known as Alverno's ability-based curriculum) became the sole curriculum offered at Alverno.
From the description of Records of the Robert G. Pitman Administration, 1974-1978. (Alverno College Library). WorldCat record id: 42843441
