Joan Herwig, associate professor of human development and family studies, resigned Feb. 1 from her position as director of the ISU Child Development Laboratory School.Herwig was the director of the school for eight years and oversaw the national accreditation of the school by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs in 1993.She said her part-time position as director of the lab school had the workload of a full-time administrative position and a part-time liaison position.”It was a hard decision to make,” she said. “I couldn’t find a way to do teaching, research and administration all at the same time.”Herwig waited to resign from her position until after the review of the laboratory school by the Iowa Department of Human Services in late January.As director of the lab school, Herwig oversaw the four-and-a-half-year creation and construction process of the Palmer Building, which opened in October 2000.”We are really going to miss her leadership of the lab school,” said Carol Meeks, dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “She was instrumental in the design and oversight of the construction of the Palmer Building.”As director, Herwig worked as a liaison between the Ames community and Iowa State.”She has been a leader in collaborations with the Ames community schools for offering kindergarten class at the laboratory school,” said Maurice MacDonald, professor and chairman of human development and family studies. “She was also nationally recognized because of her dedication and expertise as a laboratory school director.”MacDonald said the director’s position for the child development laboratory school will now be a full-time administrative position.”I hope to have someone hired by mid-February,” he said.Herwig said she is teaching HDFS 445 this semester and using the laboratory school as a resource for the class.”The laboratory school is a fabulous learning place for students, researchers and families,” she said. “While teaching HDFS 445, I am establishing new ways to use the laboratory school with my teaching and utilizing the technology it has to offer.”