Mary Deane Sorcinelli

Dr. Mary Deane Sorcinelli is Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Professor of Educational Policy, Research, and Administration, and founding Director of the award-winning Center for Teaching at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1988-2006). Prior to joining UMass Amherst, she served as director of the Office of Faculty Development at Indiana University Bloomington (1983-88).

Mary Deane has numerous published articles and book chapters. Selected co-edited books include Developing New and Junior Faculty (1992), Assigning and Responding to Student Writing Across the Disciplines (1997), Developing a Teaching Portfolio (2000), Heeding New Voices: Academic Careers for a New Generation (2000), and Creating the Future of Faculty Development (2006).

Mary Deane has directed a range of grant-funded projects including the Lilly Endowment, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Whiting Foundation. Currently, she is the co-principal investigator of a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the campus-wide Mutual Mentoring Initiative. The initiative was awarded a 2008 Innovation Award from the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education.

In addition, Mary Deane served as Senior Scholar to the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) from 1999-2001, and as President/Executive Board Member of the POD Network from 2000-04. In 2006 she was honored with the Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award for outstanding lifetime achievements and leadership in the enhancement of teaching, learning, and faculty development.

Under Mary Deane's leadership, the Center For Teaching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst was cited as one of the top four Model Faculty Development Programs in the U.S. and Canada (2006), was awarded a 2002 Innovation Award from the POD Network and a 2000 Hesburgh Award for Faculty Development to Enhance Undergraduate Teaching and Learning.

Mary Deane has worked in international settings that include Canada, England, Germany, Greece, Taiwan, and Egypt and was awarded a Whiting Foundation Fellowship to Ireland.