Professor Marilyn J. Amey died November 5, 2025. Among her notable titles, Amey served as the chairperson of the Department of Educational Administration (2011–2020), the Dr. Mildred B. Erickson Distinguished Chair for Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education (2017–2020) and the assistant provost for the MSU Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development (2020–2024). Amey joined the college in 1997 and remained active until her death. She was a noted scholar of higher, adult and lifelong education. She received several accolades throughout her career, including the College of Education Teaching Excellence in Education Award (2006), Association for the Study of Higher Education Distinguished Service Award (2015), the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Pillar of the Profession (2017) and an MSU Outstanding Supervisor Award (2025). In 2021, she co-established the Marilyn J. Amey Scholarship Endowment Fund for graduate students. Read more about Marilyn Amey.
Janet Bashore died March 9, 2025. Bashore was with the college from 1988 until her retirement in 1996. She served as secretary in the Office of the Dean and held a supportive role for college graduate programs. Bashore earned the Jack Breslin Distinguished Staff Award in 1992.
Associate Professor Emeritus Douglas R. Campbell died November 25, 2024. Campbell worked in the Department of Teacher Education from 1983–2015. He established the college’s Office of Student Writing Assistance and served on committees that were responsible for establishing many programs across the college. Campbell’s records of this work are now stored in the MSU Archives for future scholars to explore.
Associate Professor Joyce Grant died November 7, 2024. Grant served in the Department of Teacher Education faculty from 1997–2007. Her notable outreach efforts include leading the New Orleans Summer Project of 2006 to provide educational support following Hurricane Katrina and working with Nigerian schools to enhance teacher training. Outside of MSU, Grant was a community organizer, civil rights activist, and formerly served as a teacher, school founder, principal and deputy superintendent.
Marlene Green, an academic program coordinator for the Department of Kinesiology, died December 4, 2024. Green spent more than 40 years at MSU, beginning in 1982 and concluding with her retirement in 2023. Green’s role included supporting graduate students and graduate programs.
Jeanette Minkel died May 5, 2025. Minkel served as a secretary in the Office of the Dean from 1983–1990. After she left the College of Education, she served as an administrative assistant in the MSU College of Music.
University Distinguished Professor William “Bill” Schmidt died May 26, 2025. Schmidt served the college from 1969 until his death. He was the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Curriculum Policy and the program director for the Measurement and Quantitative Methods (Ph.D.) program. Other notable titles include co-director of the Education Policy Center and the Center for Research on Mathematics and Science Education, both at MSU. Schmidt was a member of the National Academy of Education, an International Academy of Education Fellow, an American Educational Research Association Fellow and an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Thomas J. Alexander Fellow. Among his extensive research, Schmidt served as a statistical analyst on the Second International Mathematics Study and directed the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the most extensive international math and science achievement study ever conducted. Read more about William Schmidt.
Professor Lee Shulman died December 30, 2024. Shulman was with the college from 1963–1982. Shulman, a scholar of educational psychology and medical education, co-founded the MSU Institute for Research on Teaching in 1976. Shulman earned a William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award from MSU in 1977.