Yussen retires after 48 years of leadership, research on children’s learning and cognitive development

Dr. Steven R. Yussen is retiring after a 48 year career as a faculty member and dean at multiple institutions. He is widely known for his research on children’s learning and cognitive development and for his work on reading comprehension and memory. He began his training at the University of Minnesota, as a graduate student at the Institute for Child Development.

He took his first faculty position in 1972, at the University of Wisconsin, where he rose through the ranks and ultimately served as the Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology (1984-87). He then moved into administration, first serving as the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Iowa (1991-98) and finally returning to the University of Minnesota as the Dean of CEHD (1998-2006). For the past 14 years, he has been a faculty member in the Institute and also the Department of Education Psychology.

Dr. Yussen has served the field in numerous ways, including as Editor of The Educational Researcher (2010-12) and as Associate Editor of Child Development (1978-81) and the Journal of Educational Psychology (2002-03). His work has been recognized in numerous ways, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1979-80) and a Fulbright lectureship at Hebrew University (1984).