Jump to HeaderJump to Main ContentJump to Footer
Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs

Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs

  • Home
  • |
  • About
    • Meet the Team
    • Initiatives
    • Faculty Impact
  • |
  • Professional Development
    • Orientation
    • Programs
    • Trainings
  • |
  • Policies
    • Policies by Appointment Type
    • Tip Sheets, Resources, and Forms
  • |
  • Resources
    • Campus Partners
    • Council of Faculty Affairs Deans
    • Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
    • Dual Career Support
  • |
  • News and Events
    • Messages
    • Newsletters
    • Events
  • |
  • Contact
Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs
  • Home
  • About
  • Professional Development
  • Policies
  • Resources
  • News and Events
  • Contact

< Home

< About

  • Meet the Team
  • Initiatives
  • Faculty Impact

< Professional Development

  • Orientation
  • Programs
  • Trainings

< Policies

  • Policies by Appointment Type
  • Tip Sheets, Resources, and Forms

< Resources

  • Campus Partners
  • Council of Faculty Affairs Deans
  • Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
  • Dual Career Support

< News and Events

  • Messages
  • Newsletters
  • Events

< Contact

Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs > Development > Programs >

Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer Program

Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer Program 

Michigan State University

Resources

  • A to Z Index
  • Find People
  • Maps
  • Email
  • Student Information System (SIS)
  • D2L
  • Libraries
  • Tech Support
  • MSU Misconduct Hotline
  • Social Media Directory
  • Events Calendar
  • For Media

Health and Safety

  • MSU Police and Public Safety
  • Olin Health Center
  • Counseling & Psychiatric Services (CAPS)
  • University Health and Wellbeing
  • MSU Health Care
  • Civil Rights and Title IX
  • Our Commitment
  • Center for Survivors
  • Security & Fire Safety Report
  • University Policy on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct
  • Notice of Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Non-Retaliation
  • Health Care Non-Discrimination Notice

Support Services

  • Disability Resources
  • Supportive Services
  • Learning Resources

Working at MSU

  • Human Resources
  • EBS Login
  • Job Postings
  • Employee Assistance Program

Reports

  • CARES Act Funding

Contact us

(517) 355-1855

Address

Michigan State University 426 Auditorium Road East Lansing, MI 48824

Follow Us

  • Visit our Facebook page
  • Visit our page on X
  • Visit our Instagram page
  • Visit our LinkedIn page
  • Visit our YouTube page

If you're having accessibility issues, please let us know.

Know MoreTransparency Reporting: Budget & Salary/Compensation
Michigan State University
  • Contact Information|
  • Site Map|
  • Privacy Statement|
  • Site Accessibility|
  • Call MSU: (517) 355-1855|
  • Visit: msu.edu|
  • Notice of Nondiscrimination|

SPARTANS WILL|© Michigan State University|

This leadership development program focuses on departmental leadership skills and problem-solving for those relatively new to their role. The goals of the DEO Program are to: 

  1. Facilitate the development of academic unit leaders through the provision of a structured educational program focused on key leadership skills and competencies;
  2. Develop a cadre of highly trained and motivated individuals who will be effective leaders on their own campuses; and
  3. Create a community of academic unit leaders who engage with one another regarding critical issues across Big Ten Academic Alliance universities.

The program follows a hybrid format, combining three live virtual sessions with an immersive three-day, in-person workshop in Chicago in November.

The DEO Seminars are managed by Big Ten Academic Alliance office staff, and programming is developed by liaisons from the Offices of the Provosts across our universities. To read more about the seminars, visit the Big Ten Academic Alliance DEO webpage.
 

Qualifications

Each year, MSU sends five chairs, school directors, or associate deans with similar responsibilities to attend this program.

Potential participants must have served at least one year (but no more than four) as a department chair, school director, or associate dean in a non-departmentally organized college.
 

Application

Interested applicants need to submit a letter (two pages maximum) explaining why they are interested in this program and how it will help them navigate their current role. This letter should include a brief synopsis of the applicant’s leadership trajectory (where they have been and ideas about where they want to go), an overview of the issues they see as critical for leaders in similar roles, and a statement about their commitment to MSU.

Information about the upcoming application period will be provided at a later date.
 

Current DEO Participants

Kristen Bieda

  • Interm Chair, Teacher Education and Professor, College of Education

Edward Brown

  • Interim Chairperson, Professor, Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, College of Engineering

Rachel Minkin

  • Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning, MSU Libraries

Mitra Paola Leo Arizmendi

  • Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Academic Innovation, Lyman Briggs College

Peter Savolainen

  • Chairperson, MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Past DEO Participants

2025 Participants
  • Catherine Donahue, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, donahu54@msu.edu
  • Jason Huang, Professor and Director, School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, College of Social Science, huangj1@msu.edu
  • Kevin McGraw, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Integrative Biology, College of Natural Science, mcgrawk5@msu.edu
  • Jennifer Schmidt, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, College of Education, jaschmid@msu.edu
  • Andrea Wittenborn, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Social Science, andreaw@msu.edu 
2024 Participants
  • Hannah Burrack, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, burrackh@msu.edu
  • Andrea Case, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Plant Biology, College of Natural Science, caseand4@msu.edu
  • Chad Cotti, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, cotticha@msu.edu
  • Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science, ogunwob1@msu.edu
  • Minami Yoda, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, yodamina@msu.edu 
2023 Participants
  • Anne Dorrance, Chair, Pharmacology Toxicology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, dorranc3@msu.edu
  • Terese Monberg, Associate Dean, Dean’s Office, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, tmonberg@msu.edu
  • Jeffrey Schenker, Chair, Mathematics, College of Natural Science, schenke6@msu.edu
  • William Zimmerman, Chair, Osteopathic Surgical Specialities, College of Osteopathic Medicine, zimme318@msu.edu 
2022 Participants
  • Rob Fowkes, Chair, Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Anthony Grubbs, Chair, Romance and Classical Studies, College of Arts & Letters
  • Anne Hughes, School Director, Social Work, College of Social Science
  • Karthik Namasivayam, School Director, Hospitality Business, Eli Broad College of Business
  • Annette O’Connor, Chair, Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
2021 Paticipants
  • Ruth Nicole Brown, Chair, African American and African Studies, College of Arts & Letters
  • Dorinda Carter Andrews, Chair, Teacher Education, College of Education
  • Matthew Daum, School Director, Packaging, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Yin-Hwei Lin, Chair, Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, College of Arts & Letters
  • Aaron McCright, Chair, Sociology, College of Social Science
  • Sheneka Williams, Chair, Educational Administration, College of Education
2020 Participants

Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 Participants
  • Rebecca Jordan, Chair, Community Sustainability, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Jacqueline Rhodes, Chair, Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures (WRAC), College of Arts & Letters
  • Cary Roseth, Chair, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, College of Education
  • Nancy Turner, Chair, Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Steve Zepf, Chair, Physics and Astronomy, College of Natural Science
2018 Participants
  • Brent Donnellan, Chair, Psychology, College of Social Science
  • Chris Hogan, Chair, Accounting and Information Systems, Eli Broad College of Business
  • Doug Hughes, Chair, Marketing, Eli Broad College of Business
  • James Klausner, Chair, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
  • Venkatesh Kodur, Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
  • Srinand Sreevatsan, Chair, Pathobiology Diagnostic Investigation, College of Veterinary Medicine
2017 Participants
  • Andrew Christlieb, Chair, Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, College of Natural Science
  • Cara Cilano, Chair, English, College of Arts & Letters
  • Bari Olivier, Chair, Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Malea Powell, Chair, Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, College of Arts & Letters
  • Danny Schnell, Chair, Plant Biology, College of Natural Science
2016 Participants
  • Bengt Arnetz, Chair, Family Medice, College of Human Medicine
  • Titus Awokuse, Chair, Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Kristi Bowman, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, College of Law
  • Sonja Fritzsche, Chair, Linguistics and Languages, College of Arts & Letters
  • John Papapolymerou, Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering