Catherine Gavin Loss

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professional Education and Associate Professor of the Practice

Academic Affairs

Biography

Catherine Gavin Loss is the associate dean for academic affairs and professional education and an associate professor of the practice at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. As associate dean, her portfolio includes Peabody’s offices of graduate and professional admissions, academic services, digital learning, and licensure and accreditation. She oversees academic program planning and implementation, curriculum development and revision, and strategic direction in professional education. She previously served as associate chair of the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations and director of Peabody’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Educational Doctorate (Ed.D.) programs. 

Her areas of research and teaching include the history of American education, the history of childhood, and education politics and policy. She enjoys working with aspiring and practicing teachers and education leaders and has taught courses in the MPP Program, Ed.D. Program, and the undergraduate Peabody Scholars Program. Her commitment to students has been recognized with the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center Mentoring Award and Peabody College’s Distinguished Faculty Citizenship Award. She earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Virginia and M.A. in social sciences from the University of Chicago. She joined the Peabody faculty in 2008.

Born and raised in Chicago and a lifelong Cubs fan, she enjoys playing the piano, hiking, and traveling with her family.