Kristin Flora, Ph.D., Franklin College Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, has been selected to serve on the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Chief Academic Officers (CAO) Task Force. She began her three-year term in December 2025.

The Task Force is made up of chief academic officers from independent and state-supported colleges and universities from across the country. The group helps plan and support CIC programming and initiatives, including the leadership academies and the annual conference. They also provide advice on other key initiatives at CIC, including the Workshop for Department and Division Chairs.

“The Council for Independent Colleges has provided me with many formative experiences over the course of my career,” Flora said. “I’m honored to be asked to join this group and excited for the opportunity to serve fellow CAOs in this capacity.”

Flora earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and psychology from Valparaiso University, followed by both a master’s and doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

She joined the Franklin College faculty in 2007 as an assistant professor of psychology and has since built an impressive record of service and leadership. Flora was named the Roscoe W. Payne Endowed Chair in Philosophy and Psychology and served as division head for social sciences and department chair from 2009 to 2015. Her dedication to student success and academic excellence has earned her numerous honors from students and faculty peers, including the Academic Adviser of the Year award, the Faculty/Staff Service Award — the highest recognition given by student organizations through the Center for Student Involvement — the Faculty Steering Committee Distinguished Service Award, and the Clifford and Paula Dietz Award for Faculty Excellence. She also holds membership in the Alpha Society, Psi Chi, and the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society.

Prior to joining Franklin College, Flora worked as a clinical outcomes analyst and research coordinator at a regional hospital in Wisconsin. During her tenure there, she contributed to a research team that studied sports-related concussions in high school athletes, culminating in a 2013 publication in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. She has since co-authored chapters in the books Early Psychological Research Contributions from Women of Color (Vol. 1) and ASCEND to Higher Retention Rates (Vol. 3).

Flora remains active in her field as a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP), having served on the Presidential Task Force on Undergraduate Research, and was recently named a Fellow of the Midwestern Psychological Association. In 2025, she was selected to participate in the year-long Executive Leadership Academy, co-sponsored by the CIC, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the American Academic Leadership Institute.

She is a resident of Franklin.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.