One of the top voices for undergraduate education has been officially spoken for.
June Youatt will take over as assistant provost for undergraduate education in the Office of the Provost starting Dec. 1.
Youatt will replace Barbara Steidle, assistant provost for undergraduate education, assessment and academic services, who retired in July.
Steidle will stay with MSU as a consultant.
"I was very excited when I found out a few days ago," said the professor of family and child ecology. "It was a long process."
In her new position, Youatt will work with undergraduate education policies, curriculum matters and faculty development programs of undergraduates professors.
Her responsibilities will be to strengthen and oversee programs including the Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum, living and learning initiatives and the ROTC.
She also will help set policy for the Honors College and the Office of Study Abroad.
Provost Lou Anna Simon said she was pleased that Youatt has agreed to take on such an important role.
"She comes to the position directly from the classroom with a valuable perspective on the student academic experience and the needs of the faculty," Simon said in a written statement.
Youatt said she spent a lot of time preparing for interviews and forums that were part of the four-month search.
Her administrative experience includes serving as project director for the Michigan Department of Education and supervising the development of high school and middle school curricula in family and consumer sciences.
The hiring of Youatt completes the reorganization of the Office of the Provost. Linda Stanford took on academic services in the fall, overseeing enrollment, including admissions and scholarships, the Financial Aid Office and the Office of the Registrar.
But Youatt said she will miss working as a professor in the department where she has spent 19 years.
"It's going to be hard not having the opportunity every semester working with a small group of students," she said.
Anne Soderman, former chairperson of the Department of Family and Child Ecology, said she has worked closely with Youatt for years.
"She is definitely one of the most people persons I've ever met," Soderman said.
"She has one heck of a sense of humor and that's what we need around here. She is very forward thinking about what makes students comfortable."
Youatt said that after she gets settled in to the position, she wants to focus on academic integrity and is interested in what occurs during a student's first year at MSU.
"I want students to be more deeply engaged early in their careers," Youatt said.
