Norene Daly, dean of Iowa State’s College of Education, announced Friday that she will resign from the dean post and return to teaching.

Daly, who has been dean of the college since 1990, will be on administrative leave for one year.

“During that time I will be working on some projects and preparing to teach in the fall of 1997, as a member of the faculty of the College of Education,” she said.

Daly has been an administrator in public schools and universities for 25 years. Before becoming an administrator in higher education, Daly was an elementary school principal. She was dean of the College of Education at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, prior to coming to ISU. Daly is not sure how long she will remain at ISU.

“That’s kind of the unknown,” she said. “I am certainly not planning to leave Iowa State in the near future. I am looking forward to being a faculty member.”

David Williams, an associate dean of the College of Education, said that the College of Education has undergone significant changes under Daly, “especially with increased emphasis on enhancing our research program in the college and enhancing undergraduate and graduate education.”

Martin Jischke, president of ISU, said a national search for a new dean to replace Daly will begin soon. Williams said there could be an interim dean for a period of time.

“[Daly] has served us well and has really made a significant contribution to the college here in her leadership role,” Williams said. “We hate to see her go, but we understand that [the dean] is a very demanding position in a university these days. We are losing her as a leader, but not losing her as a faculty member.”