Diedre Badejo, associate dean for undergraduate affairs, will be leaving Kent State this spring to take on a new position as the dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences at California State University, East Bay.

Jerry Feezel, interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, said the official date of Badejo’s departure has not been set, as there are several priorities of her job she needs to pursue and get wrapped up before she leaves.

He said Badejo will probably stay at Kent State through May 15, when Tim Moerland takes over for Feezel as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Badejo, who has been at Kent State for 12 years, said she feels both her years at Kent State and the American Council on Education’s Fellow program she participated in last year have helped prepare her for her new position as dean.

“I’ve grown quite a bit at Kent State professionally,” Badejo said, “I’ve had many opportunities here for which I’m very grateful.”

She said her time at Kent State has allowed her to find her own voice as an academic leader.

“It’s been a very positive force in my life,” Badejo said.

Badejo got her start at Kent State as director of the Institute for African American Affairs.

She was chair of the department of Pan-African Studies for nine years, until she assumed the position of associate dean for undergraduate affairs this semester.

Feezel, who said he’s worked with and known Badejo for some time, said he’s happy for her, but he’s sorry to lose her from the university leadership team.

“Sometimes we lose very good people,” Feezel said, “but we lose them because they have developed to the point where they are ready to make greater career moves. They can move to greater things and positions, and, in a sense, we can take pride in that.”

Feezel said it has yet to be determined whether an interim associate dean will be appointed in Badejo’s place.

He said whoever fills her position will be working under incoming dean Moerland, and he said he thinks it should be his decision.

“He may want to name someone as interim dean for a year, or he may want to go ahead and select someone for the position right away,” Feezel said.

Badejo said the community in which she’s going to be working is very diverse.

“That’s something I enjoyed, growing up in New York,” she said.

She said her new position as a dean at California State University, East Bay suits her personality and her professional mission.

“Promoting diversity and getting young people moving forward in the 21st century has been part of my mission,” she said. “The world has definitely changed from my generation. Young people are facing a very different kind of future and need very different kinds of skills.”

Badejo said she is going to miss Kent State, but she is excited about where the university is headed.

“Kent State has a great future in front of it,” she said, “especially for its 100th birthday.”

Contact College of Arts and

Sciences reporter Anna Duszkiewicz at [email protected].