Melissa McDaniels is assistant dean of the Graduate School and postdoc office. McDaniels works to support the professional development of graduate students, postdocs and faculty as they develop their abilities as postsecondary instructors, research mentors and academic leaders. McDaniels has more than 25 years of professional experience and, in addition to Michigan State, has held full-time positions at Northeastern University, Boston College and National Geographic Society. She has done research and consulting domestically and internationally on topics related to scholarly communication, programmatic/learning assessment in higher education, research capacity development and teaching and learning. Dr. McDaniels is a 2017-18 Big Ten Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program Fellow.