Judith Stoddart, associate dean of the Michigan State University Graduate School, will be recommended to serve as interim dean of the school and interim associate provost for graduate education.
If approved by the MSU Board of Trustees, the appointment would be effective June 1, allowing for a month of overlap with Dean Karen Klomparens still on the job.
“I am confident in Judith’s leadership during this time of transition,” said MSU Provost June Pierce Youatt.
Stoddart has served as an associate dean since 2011 and an assistant dean from 2007 to 2010. She has also served as coordinator of University Fellowship Programs, associate chair and director of graduate programs for the Department of English and an associate professor of English.
She has led several national grant projects on graduate education and was a trainer and consultant on conflict resolution and on graduate student career and professional development on other campuses and for the Council of Graduate Schools.
Stoddart received her bachelor’s in English and French from MSU, and after being selected as a Rhodes Scholar, attended Oxford University, where she received a M.Phil. and D.Phil. in English.
She will succeed Klomparens, who is retiring after more than 17 years as dean and 30 years of service to MSU.
A search for the next associate provost and dean will begin in the fall.
The MSU Graduate School serves as an advocate for graduate education to the university and beyond, and works to enhance the quality of graduate education at MSU in all its diverse dimensions.