Penn State has announced that Gwendolyn M. Lloyd, currently senior associate dean for faculty affairs, will serve as the interim dean of the College of Education, effective October 16, 2025. This transition comes as Kimberly Lawless prepares to step down from her role as dean on October 15 and return to the faculty, where she plans to explore new ways to study and apply artificial intelligence in education. A national search for a permanent dean will begin later this fall.

Lloyd is no stranger to College of Education leadership. She has served as associate dean for faculty affairs since 2020 and was promoted to senior associate dean earlier this year. Throughout her tenure, she has focused on supporting faculty through evaluations, promotion reviews, sabbaticals, and hiring, as well as fostering professional learning opportunities for staff and administrators. Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos praised Lloyd’s deep institutional knowledge and leadership, calling her “an outstanding advocate” for both faculty and students and noting that her experience will serve the college well during the transition.

In response to her appointment, Lloyd expressed gratitude and optimism about the college’s future. “It is an honor to serve in the interim dean role,” she said. “Our greatest strength lies in our community—our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners—whose shared commitment enhances the lives of those across the education landscape.”

Before stepping into administrative roles, Lloyd began her career as a mathematics educator and researcher. She joined Penn State in 2009 as a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction after teaching mathematics education at Virginia Tech from 1996 to 2009. She currently holds the Henry J. Hermanowicz Professorship in Education.

Her scholarly work has focused on mathematics education, teacher professional development, and curricular reform, and she has earned research funding from the National Science Foundation. Lloyd has also served as co-editor for the Journal of Teacher Education and contributed to multiple volumes in the International Handbook of Mathematics Teacher Education.

Lloyd earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with honors from Bryn Mawr College in 1991, a master’s in mathematics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1993, and a Ph.D. in educational studies with a focus on mathematics education from the University of Michigan in 1996.