Wayne State College has two new deans of schools on campus this year: the dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Yasuko Taoka, and dean of the School of Education and Counseling, Dr. Nicholas Shudak.

Shudak began working at Wayne State this past summer. He came to WSC from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he served as an associate professor and chair of the
Division of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education. He also served four years as the chair of the Division of Education and the director of the department of Teacher Education at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota.

“The leadership opportunity in the School of Education and Counseling brought me to Wayne State,” Shudak said. “However, I was an admirer of the college from afar for many years, even prior to me coming to the area 10 years ago.”

Shudak earned his bachelor and master’s degrees at Northern Illinois University.

In 2009, he finished his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

“I am very fond of the college as a whole, especially the people,”Shudak said. “The campus facilities are outstanding and the grounds give the college a very pleasant feel. It’s a privilege to be on a campus this size with the museums we have, a planetarium and the investment of art across campus. The college is large enough to provide diverse offerings
in terms of programs, yet small enough to work with professors.”

Taoka also began working at WSC this summer. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Grinnell College, and earned her master’s and Ph.D. at Ohio State University.

“The School of Arts and Humanities and Wayne State provide students with unparalleled
learning experiences,” Taoka said.

Before coming to WSC, Taoka served as an associate professor of classics and as the chair of the Department of Languages, Cultures and International Trade at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where she taught since 2007. The hands-on experience of WSC and the School of Arts and Humanities are things Taoka appreciates about Wayne.

“Students have access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and get hands-on experience in the Nordstrand Gallery, the KWSC radio and TV stations, the Wayne Stater newspaper and WSC Press,” Taoka said.

Taoka is also proud of the relationships and events her school is able to provide.