After a two year search, Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey was hired as the new dean of the College of Education and Human Services on July 1.

Yendol-Hoppey has been at multiple institutions leading to her position at UNF, including Pennsylvania State University where she received a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction, and the University of South Florida as an associate dean and professor.

“By being at different places, I kind of got an overview of how universities work and how colleges of education function,” said Yendol-Hoppey. “I haven’t been at an institution like UNF yet. It was really intellectually stimulating to come here.”

Yendol-Hoppey believes it wis exciting to see things that are nationally recognized as important qualities of educator preparation implemented at UNF through programs and partnerships.

A major proponent of education programming is partnership with schools, allowing students to learn in the kind of environments they’ll one day be teaching in. At UNF, our education programs are “designed to give students enough attention, both in the classroom and in the field to really develop themselves as educators,” Yendol-Hoppey said.

She said this design, the level of partnerships they’ve established and the engagement of applied research were all important things that drew her to UNF.

As an administrator, Yendol-Hoppey plans to focus her research on education on the development of teachers and principals.

“In the very beginning, my research really focused on work and partnerships in schools, with students,” she said. “As an administrator, my research has really shifted to look at how do we improve teacher education and leadership programs.”

She said colleges of education experience a lot of inhibitors to that, so a key factor is to figure out how to help faculty break down barriers to enact the best practices.

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