Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Dr. Ani Yazedjian, has named Dr. Bryan Zugelder the dean of Illinois State University’s College of Education, effective July 1. He will succeed Dr. Todd McLoda, who has served in an interim role since 2023.
“Dr. Zugelder brings years of administrative experience to his new role as the next dean of the College of Education,” said Yazedjian. “He also brings a significant background in education policy, grant work, and community innovation to strengthen the educator pipeline. I also want to express my gratitude to Dr. Todd McLoda for his exemplary service and dedication to the College of Education.”
Zugelder has a record of scholarly contributions related to the educator continuum, including refereed articles, books, and book chapters; invited publications; state, regional, national, and international presentations; and $44M in external funding as a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI).
“I am thrilled to join the Illinois State’s College of Education as professor and dean,” Zugelder said. “I look forward to collaboratively building upon the outstanding reputation of its faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners from across the local community and beyond.”
Zugelder currently is serving as associate dean for academic excellence, research, Innovation and policy at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Va. Under his leadership, JMU created the Lab School for Innovation and Career Exploration, an $8 million partnership laboratory high school that connects high school students with the university, local school district, community college, and industry partners. His policy oversight helped JMU secure $2.2 million in recurring legislative funding to support a Grow Your Own program that recruits, prepares, and diversifies the pipeline and connects paraprofessionals to innovative and accessible teacher education. Zugelder also led efforts for JMU faculty to create two graduate certificates, three master’s degrees, and an inaugural Ed.D. program.
Prior to his leadership role in Virginia, Zugelder served as a faculty member at East Carolina University and as the director of teacher preparation and development and state director of the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program (NC NTSP) at the University of North Carolina System Office. There he provided leadership for educator preparation policy and implementation across all 15 of the public universities in the state. He also served on the UNC System’s lab school development team, creating inaugural lab schools across public universities.
Originally from Florida, he taught in two public school districts, supported one large urban school district with literacy coaching and literacy leadership efforts, and led a large-scale elementary mathematics assessment project at the Florida Department of Education. He also served as director of clinical experiences, director of the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute, and executive director of undergraduate affairs and partnerships at the University of Central Florida.
Zugelder has also served at the national and international levels for organizations such as Education Deans for Justice and Equity, Association of Teacher Educators, and iDebate Rwanda.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Central Florida, a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Florida State University, and an Ed.D. in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.