Research and Graduate Studies

Shelley Lindauer, associate vice president for research and associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies, will be leaving the Office of Research and Graduate Studies on Dec. 31, 2012. She will be returning to the Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development as a faculty member. Her position will include teaching, research and administrative components.

“The past eight years, first in the School of Graduate Studies, and more recently in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, have been very exciting and rewarding,” said Lindauer. “In the past year, with the formation of RGS, I have met many people who work in the different divisions within the office, and it has been such a wonderful experience. However, teaching has been something that I have always loved doing, so I’m excited to return to FCHD and work more directly with students.”

Lindauer has been a USU faculty member for 30 years. Prior to joining the School of Graduate Studies as associate dean in 2004, she was a professor in the Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development, where she held positions including associate department head, interim department head and director of the Adele and Dale Young Child Development Laboratory.

As associate vice president for research and associate dean, Lindauer is responsible for day-to-day operations of the School of Graduate Studies as well as oversight of the Division of Research Computing. Her work in SGS has focused on customer service for students, faculty, departments and colleges.

“I have spearheaded the development of materials such as the Compass to help students navigate the degree completion process,” she said. “I have also worked to help make our School of Graduate Studies processes transparent and more easily understood.”

“I have enjoyed fostering positive relationships with departments,” said Lindauer. “For instance, we have initiated monthly graduate program contacts meetings to build communication with departments, and these have been really successful.”

In addition, she has been responsible for recruitment, which has included working with departments to develop recruitment strategies, producing department-oriented materials to use in recruitment and facilitating a steady growth in matriculated graduate students.

Lindauer has also been involved in the process of integrating the School of Graduate Studies and the Office of the Vice President for Research, which took place last year.

“The experience of working on a team to combine the two offices has been very stimulating and gratifying,” said Lindauer.

Lindauer received her bachelor's degree from Colorado State University and her master's and doctoral degrees from Oregon State University. Throughout her career, her research has focused on young children (kindergarten transition, social competence in preschool children), families (parent-child interaction) and teachers (curriculum models for early childhood, professional preparation of early childhood educators, implementation of developmentally appropriate practices). In addition, during her career, she has chaired over 45 graduate students and has served on another 60 graduate students' committees.

“When I first joined the office, Shelley provided encouragement and the help I needed to adapt to my new position as both dean and vice president,” said Mark McLellan, vice president for research and dean of the School of Graduate Studies. “Her exceptional skills in the office allowed for greater productivity and, because of her guidance, the newly formed Office of Research and Graduate Studies was created with a strong sense of service and outreach. She will be greatly missed by all of us.”

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies will conduct a national search for the new associate vice president for research and associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

- Nadiah Johari

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