Assistant Dean Lynn Paine speaks at the fall 2015 faculty meeting.
Professor Lynn Paine is now leading the Michigan State University College of Education’s efforts to promote international study and engagement.
Paine, a distinguished scholar and teacher educator, became assistant dean for international studies on Aug. 16, 2015. She oversees the Office of International Studies in Education (OISE), which facilitates a range of internationally focused programs and services.
However, the college has long been known for integrating international study across all its departments and programs, and for tackling domestic and global issues inseparably—a concept that first drew Paine to MSU 30 years ago.
“Over time we have created a very distinctive model,” said Paine. “We need to build on that tradition, and take the time to think strategically about our commitments.”
Currently, the college enrolls more than 320 international students. Unique opportunities exist for students, such as the Global Educators Cohort Program for undergraduate teacher candidates and college-sponsored international study trips for doctoral students. And faculty members participate in collaborative research projects in partnership with colleagues in many parts of the world.
Paine has spent much of her career studying how teaching and teacher education compares across nations, and how globalization affects the profession. She was a senior researcher on the MT21 and TEDS-M cross-national studies of mathematics teacher education. She spent seven years advising the U.S. government as a member of the National Research Council’s Board on International Comparative Studies in Education.
Paine has also worked as an instructor at universities in Taiwan and China, currently holding an honorary appointment at Beijing Normal University.
“Lynn has a long and outstanding track record in global research and engagement,” said Donald E. Heller, dean of the College of Education. “She has been recognized for her scholarship on China, and has led students on research and study trips to multiple countries. She brings an excellent set of skills to the position of Assistant Dean, and I look forward to working with her.”
Paine says she hopes to enhance discussion among faculty members about the projects, topics and world regions on which they can focus in more collaborative and coordinated ways. She also plans to create an academic workshop series for international graduate students and offer more guidance for students who are preparing for career paths other than traditional teaching or faculty positions outside the United States.
“If we want to give our students maximum engagement in our world, how do we do that?” she says. “We will be asking what are the ways we can make international commitments work, not as an add-on but as what we want to achieve as a college.”
Paine also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Sociology at MSU, and is a core faculty member in the Asian Studies Center and the Center for Gender in Global Context. She earned a Ph.D. in International Development Education from Stanford, from where she also received an M.A. in Sociology. She received her B.A. in East Asian Studies from Princeton, with a secondary teaching certification in English and Chinese.