Isaac Prilleltensky will step down from being Dean of School of Education and Human Development at the end of the fall 2017 semester. He will return to UM after a one-year leave. Photo Courtesy: School of Education and Human Development.

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Isaac Prilleltensky, dean of the School of Education and Human Development, will step down from his position at the end of this semester after 11 years of service to UM.

In a statement to the university, Provost Jeffrey Duerk announced Prielleltensky will continue to serve as the school's dean until the end of the fall 2017 semester. At the end of his deanship, Prilleltensky will take one year off to write a new book. Upon the completion of his one-year leave, Prilleltensky will return to UM as professor of educational and psychological studies. At that time, he will also resume his role as vice provost for Institutional Culture.

During his tenure at UM, Prilleltensky established an undergraduate major in Human and Social Development and master's programs in Community and Social Change, Education and Social Change and Physical Fitness and Nutrition.

Prilleltensky also serves as vice provost for Institutional Culture. The Office of Institutional Culture aims to curate "a culture of belonging where every person feels valued and has an opportunity to add value."

Before being appointed as dean of the School of Education in 2006, he served as professor of Human and Organizational Development and director of the Ph.D. program in Community Research and Action at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.

The Argentina native received his M.A. in clinical psychology from Tel Aviv University and his Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba in Canada.

President Julio Frenk and Duerk have begun organizing a committee to search for a new dean. In the meantime, Laura Kohn-Wood, professor and associate vice provost for Institutional Culture, will oversee the Office of Institutional Culture in Prilleltensky's absence.