Dr. Toni Doolen will conclude her nearly 14-year tenure as Dean of the Oregon State University Honors College, returning to the College of Engineering on January 1, 2026.
Under Doolen’s leadership, the Honors College has grown from serving 800 students on the Corvallis campus in 2012, when her tenure began, to more than 2,600 students across OSU’s Corvallis and Cascades campuses and through Ecampus in the fall of 2025. She has also overseen the expansion of the college’s mission to include National and Global Scholarship Advising and the Design for Social Impact program, both of which are open to students from across the university.
“My time as honors dean has been transformative for me as an individual and as a leader,” she says. “I am deeply appreciative of the time I’ve had working with my Honors College colleagues and look forward to watching all they will accomplish in support of continuing the legacy of honors education and inclusive excellence at OSU.”
Doolen’s tenure has been marked by innovation and a commitment to inclusive excellence. She drove expansion in access to the Honors College, while maintaining personalized student support at scale. From fall 2017 to fall 2024, the percentage of Honors College students with financial need rose from under 18% to over 40%, a shift enabled by philanthropic support and strategic planning, and she introduced honors pathways for students on Ecampus and at OSU-Cascades.
She also led the development of a multi-level external advisory board structure, now a national model, which helped drive a nearly 400% increase in philanthropic support. The college met its 10-year fundraising goal halfway through the campaign and surpassed a revised goal of $7.5 million by June 30, 2025, the end of the university fiscal year. Even as enrollment and impact grew, the college maintained flat differential tuition for eight years.
“Toni has my most sincere admiration and appreciation for her impactful leadership of the Honors College,” said Roy Haggerty, Provost and Executive Vice President of Oregon State.
Beyond the Honors College, Doolen has served in key university-wide leadership roles, including as Interim Associate Vice President of Budget and Resource Planning and Dean of the College of Education. Her leadership has been grounded in collaboration, data-informed decision-making and a deep investment in student, staff and faculty success.
A search for the next dean of the Honors College will be launched in the coming weeks, with the goal of appointing a new leader early in 2026.
