Dr. S. Marshall Perry, an educational leadership scholar with an academic and professional background in promoting student success through research and practice, is the new dean of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at Fresno State.
“Throughout his career, Dr. Perry has championed academic pathways that support student success,” said Dr. Xuanning Fu, provost and vice president for the Division of Academic Affairs at Fresno State. “He led the development of innovative ‘4+1’ programs, allowing students to earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years. His expertise in using enrollment and labor market data will be vital as we ensure our academic programs meet the needs of today’s students and tomorrow’s teachers.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale College in 1995, Perry began working at Stanford University in 2001 as a teaching assistant. In 2004, he became a program coordinator for the faculty recruitment office, earning a certificate in political psychology in 2006 and a Ph.D. in administration and policy analysis, with a minor in political psychology, in 2007.
After a couple of years as a senior research associate at Rockman et al Cooperative, an education-focused research group in San Francisco, Perry moved to Oakdale, New York, and became an associate professor at Dowling College, teaching doctoral and professional certification classes. While in New York, he worked as a consultant with the New York State Joint Intervention Teams, writing educational plans for struggling middle and high schools. He also served as a consultant for Riverhead Charter School and a resident professor-researcher for the North Babylon Union Free School District, designing and implementing workshops and instructional materials for teachers and administrators.
In 2016, Perry moved back to the West Coast to become a professor at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, teaching courses on educational policy, research methods, data-informed leadership and ethics in the doctoral and administrative credential programs. After serving as a program director, department chair and associate dean of the Kalmanovitz School of Education, in 2022, Perry became the vice provost of academic innovation and, in 2025, served as the interim dean of the Kalmanovitz School of Education.
On July 20, Perry will begin his role as dean of the Kremen School at Fresno State
“I’m incredibly excited to join Fresno State as the next dean of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development,” Perry said. “Fresno State is known as a high-quality university of economic mobility and the Kremen School in particular is a place of enormous accomplishment and great potential. It is widely known as the place that prepares more credentialed P-12 schoolteachers than any other public university in California, but I was delighted to also learn about strong master’s programs in counseling, education and leadership, as well as a doctoral program in educational leadership. I also was blown away by the skillful advising and teaching taking place at the undergraduate level, with 97% of students passing their classes in the liberal studies major. “I plan to make it easier for these successful undergraduate students to continue into our various graduate programs and build out more pathways from the master’s to the doctoral level.”
Perry’s research received recognition from the Institute of Education Sciences’ What Works Clearinghouse, which cited his work as one of only 15 studies on distance education to meet its standards without reservation. His scholarly work covers educational leadership and policy analysis, focusing on disadvantaged student populations while comparing teacher job satisfaction, educational practices and effectiveness.
Perry succeeds interim dean Sergio La Porta, who returns to his role as associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State.
