Former MSU President Jonathan Snyder is the reason Donald Straney came to MSU.

“He cast a long shadow on the family,” said Straney, a zoology professor and assistant to the provost for faculty development. “He was my mother’s father’s uncle, so my family’s been associated with (MSU) for a long time.”

But Straney will end his 23 year stay at MSU for a new position as dean of the College of Science at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif.

“I was attracted by its similarity in its mission to Michigan State,” Straney said, “and the opportunity it’ll give me to use what I’ve learned here to work with people there.”

Straney’s appointment was made official May 30 and becomes effective Aug. 15. It is not yet known who will take Straney’s position at MSU when he leaves.

Since his great-great uncle’s presidency from 1896-1914, his family has had significant ties with MSU.

Straney, originally from Massachusetts, attended MSU as an undergraduate. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s in zoology in 1973 before attending the University of California, Berkeley to receive his doctorate in zoology.

While studying zoology at MSU, Straney worked closely with museum director and history Professor Rollin Baker.

Baker said Straney was a wonderful choice for California State Polytechnic’s dean of the College of Science

“He’s a very capable person,” Baker said. “He was a brilliant young man, and he had a strikingly inquisitive mind, which is good for a researcher.”

After graduating with his doctorate, Baker offered Straney a position as a curator at the MSU museum in 1979. He then became an assistant professor in the Department of Zoology and became an associate professor in the department in 1985.

Straney was appointed chairman of the Department of Zoology in 1987, and continued until 1995 when he moved to the position of the assistant to the provost for faculty development.

MSU will miss Straney’s work in the Department of Zoology, said Richard Snider, interim chairperson for the department.

“Don certainly is a good man, and I hate to see him go,” he said. “But for his career, I think this is a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

Straney said he’s sad to leave MSU, but is excited to begin his new position.

“I’m looking forward to working with the faculty in bringing what they’re doing in the research labs to the classrooms to help students succeed in their careers,” he said.

Straney said he will mostly miss the people he’s worked with over the years at MSU.

“MSU has an extraordinary group of faculty and students and I’ve really enjoyed working and learning with them,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends here that I’m sorry I won’t get to see every day.”

The current dean of the College of Science at California State Polytechnic, Simon Bernau, said he will be stepping down from the position to become a full-time professor in the Department of Mathematics.

Bernau has been working via telephone and e-mail with Straney to bring him up to speed on issues from the college, and he said he hopes Straney can continue making progress in the College of Science there.

“I think a change is going to be good for the college, and I think Dr. Straney will a great asset,” he said. “He’s got a good record, and I was very pleased with the candidates.”