Jacqueline Huntoon has served as its dean of the Graduate School at Michigan Technological University since 2005. As dean, she oversees all aspects of graduate education at Michigan Tech. Since she became dean she has revitalized the Graduate School so that it is better able to attract, retain, and ultimately graduate students who are well prepared to meet the needs of society. She has led efforts to enhance the diversity of the graduate student population, to provide support for students completing theses and dissertations, to offer a professional development series to graduate students, to increase employment opportunities for graduate students, and to increase the involvement of students in externally supported research.  

She originally joined Michigan Tech in 1989 as an Assistant Professor of Geology and attained the rank of Professor in 2004. She received her PhD from The Pennsylvania State University, master's degree from The University of Utah, and bachelor's degree from The University of California at Santa Cruz. She is originally from Los Angeles, California. From 2003 until 2005 she served as a program director in the Directorate for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va. As an NSF program director, she primarily managed the Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences and the Geoscience Education programs. This responsibility included managing a budget of approximately $6 million per year. She was also in charge of coordinating diversity and education programs within the Directorate for Geosciences and establishing collaborative relationships with other programs within NSF as well as other federal agencies.
 
Huntoon is a Fellow and board member of the Geological Society of America, a Councilor for the Geological Society of America’s Minorities and Women Committee, a life member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, and an associate editor of the Journal of Sedimentary Research. From 2005-2008 she was a National Association of Geology Teachers Distinguished Lecturer. Her geologic research focuses on the geologic record of long-term changes in climate and sea-level during the Late Paleozoic. She is also involved in geoscience education research and is involved in numerous teacher training and education evaluation projects.