Loyola Marymount University announced that Michelle D. Young of the University of Virginia will lead LMU School of Education as its next dean. She will begin her term on June 1, 2020.
“Michelle Young is a renowned leader, an influential scholar, and a purposeful educator,” said Thomas Poon, executive vice president and provost of LMU. “I’m thrilled that she will be joining LMU to build upon our School of Education’s national reputation for excellence and chart its ambitious course for the future.”
Young is in her 18th year as executive director of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), an international consortium of more than 100 research institutions with master’s- and doctoral-level programs in educational leadership and administration. In that role, she has been instrumental in increasing the focus of research on leadership preparation and bringing research to bear on the work of faculty members, educational leadership and policymakers. During her tenure at UCEA, the budget for mission-focused activities quadrupled and the investment portfolio saw a seven-fold increase.
Young is currently a professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Virginia. She co-edited or co-authored six books and has published 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her scholarship focuses on how university programs, educational policies and school leaders can support equitable and quality experiences for all students and adults who learn and work in schools.
She has been the recipient of multiple awards for her writing, including the William J. Davis Award for most outstanding article, an Emerald Literati Award for Excellence, and the A. Ross Thomas Highly Commended Paper Award. Her work has also been published in the Review of Educational Research, Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of School Leadership, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Journal of Educational Administration and Leadership and Policy in Schools, among other publications.
She has edited two editions of the “Handbook of Research on the Education of School Leaders” and was recently awarded the prestigious Edwin M. Bridges Award for her contributions to research on the preparation of education leaders.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining LMU’s School of Education as its next dean,” Young said. “The school is already a leader in preparing new, equity-minded educational professionals for their careers, and I look forward to helping LMU’s students and community partners progress even further.”
Young was selected to lead the college after a nationwide search to replace Shane Martin, who became provost at Seattle University. LMU retained the firm Isaacson Miller for the search.
Young earned her Ph.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Texas-Austin, where she later served as an associate professor, and her bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University. She has also held academic appointments at the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri-Columbia.
