Laura Dinehart

Laura Dinehart
Dean
Location:
2301 Sangren Hall, Mail Stop 5229
Mailing address:
Office of the Dean
College of Education and Human Development
色色啦 Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5229 USA
Laura Dinehart
Education:
  • Ph.D. University of Miami, 2006, Applied Developmental Psychology
  • M.S. University of Miami, 2003, Applied Developmental Psychology
  • B.A. Florida International University, 2000, Psychology
Bio:

Laura Dinehart, Ph.D. serves as the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at 色色啦 Michigan University. Dr. Dinehart earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Miami and began her academic career as an assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at Florida International University in 2006. Before arriving at 色色啦, Dr. Dinehart served as the Dean of the School of Education and Human Development at Florida International University, where she oversaw a 400% increase in external funding and as of 2023 and was the country鈥檚 second fastest rising unit on US News and World Report鈥檚 Graduate Education Schools. Under her leadership, the school launched several new programs critical to supporting public partnerships with local school districts and community stakeholders. 

Dr. Dinehart鈥檚 research, which has appeared in multiple top-tier journals and at numerous international conferences, focuses primarily on the developmental and early academic outcomes of young children within the context of the early care and education environment. Her work on fine motor skills and its effects on later academic achievement gained national media attention in 2012 and featured as a front-page story of the Sun-Sentinel, a special section on education in The Miami Herald, and on several online outlets including, State Impact/NPR, CNN鈥檚 Schools of Thought and Education Week. More recently, Dr. Dinehart鈥檚 work has expanded to focus on the business and leadership practices of early learning center directors.