Associate dean's career full of the unexpected
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EmailIf there’s one thing that Kelly Millenbah has learned in her career, it’s to expect the unexpected.
If there’s one thing that Kelly Millenbah has learned in her career, it’s to expect the unexpected.
“I didn’t expect to stay here and earn a Ph.D.,” she said of her graduate career at Michigan State University. “I was packing up and getting ready to leave, but Bill Taylor encouraged me to go on for a doctorate, and so I did.”
Millenbah, a Wisconsin native, ended up with a job at MSU less than two years later. The rest could have been history, but not in Millenbah’s case.
She’s played nearly every part on the academic side, from instructor to full professor. The surprise, even to Millenbah, is that she’s also spent much of her career in administration. She served as associate director for the Environmental Science and Policy Program and director of academic programs for the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Most recently, Millenbah was associate dean at Lyman Briggs College at MSU. Now she’s back in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources as associate dean and director of academic and student affairs.
“My heart is here in the CANR,” she said. “It was like coming home.”
She cites MSU for providing her opportunities for growth, and anyone who talks to Millenbah sees that she’s not afraid to pursue her passions.
“There have always been new opportunities here,” she said. “When Fred [Poston] called and asked if I wanted to come back, I said, ‘Yes,’ and not only because it’s where my heart is, but I wanted to work with him. It was another opportunity to grow.”
Along the way, Millenbah’s research focus changed from natural resources to students, teaching and learning. And that’s served her well in her new CANR role: reviewing curriculum with departments, an effort that’s been under way the past 10 months.
“We’ve spent a lot of time reviewing our requirements and talking to employers, our faculty and students to make sure that our students are graduating with the skills they need to land jobs and pursue meaningful careers,” Millenbah said.
She admitted that she misses more regular contact with students.
“Their energy is contagious,” she said. “They keep you grounded, real and honest, and they definitely keep you adjusting. This just means I’m more purposeful about staying in touch with students.”
To do this, Millenbah keeps up her guest lecturing schedule and oversees, with her fellow co-investigators, two cohorts of students who have received multi-year scholarships and participate in special seminars on the sciences from a grant awarded by the National Science Foundation.
Though this might not have been the career she envisioned when she graduated from Ripon College, Millenbah said it’s exactly right for her.
