UMD names Kimberly Zoder-Martell to lead education, human-services college

St. Louis County’s teacher shortage, counseling gaps and human-services staffing needs now run through a new leadership decision at the University of Minnesota Duluth. UMD has chosen Kimberly Zoder-Martell, Ph.D., to lead its College of Education and Human Service Professions, a move that could influence how the Northland trains and keeps the workers local schools, clinics and agencies rely on.

The appointment, announced April 27, 2026, still needs final approval from the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Once in place, Zoder-Martell will oversee a college built around five departments: Applied Human Sciences, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Education, Psychology and Social Work. UMD says the college offers more than 25 majors and minors and six graduate programs, making it one of the region’s most direct pipelines into public-service jobs.

That reach matters in Duluth and across St. Louis County, where school districts, nonprofits and county agencies compete for the same graduates. UMD’s Department of Education includes more than 15 undergraduate licensure areas, a post-baccalaureate licensure program, a Master of Education and three minors. The Department of Social Work has two fully accredited programs, the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work, and UMD says about 60% of its MSW students receive scholarships. The college also says its social work curriculum is shaped by Indigenous perspectives and American Indian social work practice, with the Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies described as a national leader in improving American Indian child welfare practice.

Zoder-Martell comes to the role from Ball State University, where she is identified as a professor of applied behavior analysis and chair of the Department of Special Education. Ball State says she is a licensed psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral. Her research focuses on improving outcomes for people with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities, especially through training for parents, teachers and direct care staff. Ball State says she earned her doctorate in school psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, along with degrees from Adelphi University and Stony Brook University.

For local readers, the hire is less about campus hierarchy than workforce supply. UMD’s education and human-services programs feed classrooms, counseling offices, child-welfare systems and nonprofit agencies across the Twin Ports and the Northland. The new dean will help shape whether that pipeline grows stronger at a time when those jobs are still hard to fill.