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), Sr. Bernarda Handrup, and Robert G. Pitman. Sr. Austin Doherty became Alverno's fifth Academic Dean shortly after the death of Robert Pitman in 1978. She presided over a period of growth, contemplation, and celebration. During her tenure, the Weekend College Program was firmly established; the Telesis Institute (Alverno's non-degree program) was opened and the Alverno College Institute enabling the college to support and share at the national level was launched in 1980; the Carnegie Institute for the Advancement of Teaching named Alverno's general education program one of the top three in 1986; Alverno celebrated its centennial in 1987; the one-hundredth commencement was celebrated in 1989; and Alverno's enrollment topped 2500 (the highest it had ever been) in 1991.
From the description of Records of the Austin Doherty Administration, 1978-1991. (Alverno College Library). WorldCat record id: 42849507
