Central College has created two new dean positions to provide leadership and support in undergraduate education and faculty development. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Central College has added two new dean positions, overseeing faculty and undergraduate education.

According to a news release, the Pella private college promoted Leslie Keuning Duinink to the role of dean of undergraduate education and Aaron Roerdink to dean of faculty. Both are Central College alumni.

“As Central continues to evaluate the changing needs and current climate of higher education, and the innovative direction of the Imagine More initiative, I am delighted to promote two colleagues to the role of dean for foundational academic areas,” said Mary E.M. Strey, vice president for academic affairs, in the release. “The talent they each bring to their roles will provide significant strategic support for Central’s future.”

Duinink will oversee implementation of core curriculum and support “strategic curricular initiatives” in different programs in her new role, said Central College content specialist Jeanette Budding in an email. She will keep her role as senior registrar, the release stated, and she is also a professor of kinesiology.

Duinink has worked at the college for 26 years, and has served on its curriculum committee for a decade. She was also a class dean for three classes. According to the release, she was a leader in the rollout of spring and summer registration and orientation, and has a passion for “sustaining a robust academic advising system.”

“She is a leader among the faculty for her initiative-taking work related to core curriculum implementation and support of strategic curricular initiatives within programs,” the release stated.

As dean of faculty, Roerdink will provide leadership and support in faculty development, hiring and employee evaluation, curriculum development and engagement between faculty members, Budding said in the email.

Roerdink returned to Central College in 2023 to take on the role of associate dean for learning enrichment, the release stated, through which he created a course to qualify faculty to teach distance education over the summer and oversaw undergraduate research, workshops and course development.

He has also worked in the “Imagine More: It’s Central to Pella” initiative, which aims to bring Central College and Pella closer together through strategic partnerships and projects housed both on and off campus. According to the release, Roerdink is involved in partnerships in the health sciences and a decision science program.

With Roerdink’s promotion, the associate dean for learning enrichment position will not be refilled at this time, Budding said in the email.

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