College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Frank Fear (Ph.D., Sociology, Iowa State University, 1977) has served Michigan State University for over 25 years in a variety of roles, academic and administrative. He currently serves as acting senior associate dean, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and as interim director, Bailey Scholars Program. He is president and CEO of The Greater Lansing Food Bank and a founding member of the Capital Area Food Security Coalition.

Frank studies, writes, and teaches about forms of extraordinary change in organizational and community settings with focus on extraordinary change resulting from collaboration with higher education. His articles have appeared recently in The Journal of Leadership Studies, Innovative Higher Education, Metropolitan Universities, the Journal of College and Character, About Campus, and Encounter. He is a frequent contributor to The Journal of Higher Education, Outreach and Engagement and is lead author of the soon-to-be-published book, Coming to Critical Engagement (University Press of America.)

From 1989-1995, Frank served as chairperson of the Department of Resource Development; and from 1997-2000 served as the inaugural chairperson of The Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program, a distinctive undergraduate program that promotes undergraduate student & faculty development through collaborative learning. In between those assignments, Frank was acting associate director of MSU Extension. From 2001-05, Frank devoted full attention to scholarly expressions with emphasis on writing.

Frank continues to be deeply involved in undergraduate education through the Bailey Scholars Program. He regularly teaches the introductory course for entering students and the capstone course for graduating students. Frank also co-designed and taught (at various times) all three graduate core courses in Resource Development. He co-designed and taught (Fall 2005) one of the initial graduate courses in CARRS, Theory and Practice of Engaged Learning. He has served on graduate committees of nearly 200 MSU master's and doctoral graduates - over 25 graduates since 2001.

Frank is also a consulting scholar with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, most recently in conjunction with the Food Systems Higher Education-Community Partnership initiative.