The dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences will step down from her position this summer to become head of Iowa State’s Center for Family Policy.

Carol Meeks’ resignation as dean, which was announced Tuesday, will go into effect June 30. An interim dean will be appointed, and the search for a permanent dean will begin next fall.

Meeks said her new position will be “much more intellectually interesting than being dean.”

“A lot of a dean’s job is meeting people and selling the college and its programs. This [new position] will give me a lot more opportunity to do some deeper thinking and focus more on one activity instead of on a variety of activities,” she said. “[My new position] will give me the opportunity to help families improve their lives more directly.”

Maurice MacDonald, professor and chairman of human development and family studies, said some of Meeks’ new duties as head of the Center for Family Policy will be similar to her duties as dean of the FCS college.

“The duties as center director will involve leading faculty and staff who do research, and outreach and educational programs about the impacts of policy on families and children, so in that way her leadership activities will be quite similar to what she’s doing now,” he said.

MacDonald said Meeks’ new position will involve working with public agencies and in areas that fit her personal research background.

She will also plan activities for conferences, seminars and help build research and policy evaluation teams.

“Carol’s background has been involved in public policy in the housing area, so typically when people leave dean positions, it’s driven or motivated by their interest in returning to a life that is more like a regular faculty member’s, that they enjoyed before they took the job [as dean],” he said.

MacDonald said the staff at the Center for Public Policy is looking forward to working with Meeks because of her qualifications.

“At this time, the center has had a need for some leadership with someone with her senior-level experience,” he said.

Mary Winter, associate dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, said Meeks has improved technology in the college during her time as dean.

“When she began six years ago there was a half-time tech support person in the college, and now we have three full-time ones,” Winter said. “[Meeks] has done that basically with reallocations in the budget that have made an amazing amount of difference in the college.”

Winter said the increase in technological support ensures computer equipment is used to its fullest capacity.

“Now we have the support to help faculty and students use it effectively,” she said.

Winter said Meeks has also been instrumental in providing computer labs for students.

Meeks’ biggest achievement since becoming dean in August of 1997 has been the “Year of the Family” from 2000 to 2001, she said.

“Carol was the driving force behind that and it gave great visibility to our college and its programs,” Winter said.