Joyce deJong
Joyce deJong is the sixth dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. In addition to serving as dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, deJong is a forensic pathologist and serves as a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has been a member of this team since 1997. deJong is the past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) and was the first osteopathic physician to lead the organization.
Prior to joining the college in 2024, she served as professor and founding chair of pathology of the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine and also served as medical examiner for 12 counties in Michigan, overseeing multiple deputy medical examiners and ~100 medical examiner investigators. She earned her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree in 1988 from the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Jim Forger
In addition to serving as dean of the College of Music, James Forger is a professor of saxophone, an active performing saxophonist and an award-winning recording artist. He was appointed director of the School of Music in 1990, and since then the school (now college) has been recognized as a nationally ranked program. Forger is a member of the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Music and has served as an evaluator and consultant to music schools and nondegree-granting community music programs across the country. In 1994, he founded a new nondegree-granting division of the College of Music, the Community Music School, which enrolls 1,200 individuals each year. Forger has performed throughout South America, Europe, Asia and the former Soviet Union. He has been the guest saxophonist in residence at the International Chamber Music Festival of the Mayan Highlands in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. He has appeared as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Sinfonica de Vientos in Tunja, Colombia.
Jerlando F. L. Jackson
Jerlando F. L. Jackson is the dean of the College of Education and an MSU Foundation Professor. Jackson is a noted scholar on hiring practices, career mobility, workforce diversity and workplace discrimination. He is credited with coining the term “organizational disparities,” or the conditions under which organizations promote disparities, with a keen eye toward disruption of status-quo practices. He is the author or editor of six books and more than 125 research publications as well as the recipient of more than 20 honors and awards.
Prior to joining MSU in 2022, Jackson was the Rupple-Bascom Professor of Education and Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also served as department chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and the director and chief research scientist of Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory.
Leigh Small
Leigh Small is dean of the College of Nursing. Previously, she served as the college’s interim dean, supporting innovative initiatives focused on developing a more diverse student body and caring for underrepresented and rural communities. Small joined MSU in July 2020 to serve as associate dean of academic affairs after nearly four years as associate dean of academic programs at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She has nearly 30 years of experience as a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner and over 25 years promoting evidence-based practice through research. Small is committed to fostering inclusion and excellence in the next generation of health care professionals, positioning the college as a leader in nursing education, research and practice.
Aron Sousa
Aron Sousa is the interim dean of the College of Human Medicine. He previously served as interim dean in 2015 and 2016. In his previous role, Sousa served as senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, a post he's held since 2006. He was responsible for the educational programs of the college across the seven community campuses across the state. During that time he managed the doubling of the college's class size and converting its two-year, 60 student Grand Rapids campus into a four-year, 350 student campus. He also led the creation of a pair of new, two-year clinical campuses in Traverse City and Midland. Sousa is a practicing general internist. He received his bachelor's in chemistry and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. He then served as both a resident and chief resident in internal medicine and completed a Primary Care Fellowship at Michigan State University.
College of Human Medicine
Secchia Center
15 Michigan St. NE
Grand Rapids, MI
616-233-1678
sousaa@msu.edu
Cameron G. Thies
Cameron G. Thies is dean of James Madison College and MSU Foundation Professor. Thies is a scholar of international relations who has published broadly in foreign policy analysis, conflict processes, international political economy and international relations theory. He has previously served as editor of Political Science Research & Methods and Foreign Policy Analysis, and now serves as the deputy lead editor of the Journal of Politics. Thies was named the Distinguished Scholar of Foreign Policy Analysis in 2016, the Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar in 2017 and the Ole R. Holsti Distinguished Scholar in 2020 by the International Studies Association. He also served as president of the International Studies Association in 2019-20.
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Jennifer Trenkamp, MSUToday editor