Robert Floden, a University Distinguished Professor and associate dean for research in the Michigan State University College of Education, will be recommended as dean of the college.
Floden will take over for Donald Heller, dean since 2012. Heller is leaving MSU to serve as provost and academic vice president at the University of San Francisco.
If approved by the MSU Board of Trustees, Floden’s appointment would be effective Jan. 1, 2016, and extend through August 31, 2017, or until the appointment of the next dean. The search for the next dean will begin in the spring.
“Dr. Floden has past experience as interim dean in the College of Education and will provide trusted leadership during this time of transition,” said MSU Provost June Pierce Youatt.
Floden also serves as co-director of the Education Policy Center at MSU. He has been on the College of Education faculty since 1977 and became associate dean in 1989.
A member of the National Academy of Education, he is one of the preeminent scholars in the areas of teaching, teacher education and how policy is linked to classroom practice. He has appointments across multiple study areas in the college, including teacher education, educational psychology, educational policy, mathematics education and measurement and quantitative methods. Floden received a master’s in statistics and a doctorate in philosophy of education, both from Stanford University.