Mary Deane Sorcinelli

Throughout my career at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as Associate Provost and Founding Director, Center for Teaching & Learning, my aspiration was to support the professional development of faculty members at every career stage. I now serve as Senior Fellow in CTL and Emeritus Professor, Educational Policy, Research and Leadership. I also am Co-PI of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to the Association of American Universities (AAU) to study how universities can successfully coordinate undergraduate STEM education reforms to achieve sustainable change (2016-2022). As well, I work with CTLs and academic institutions seeking evidence-informed approaches to teaching and faculty development.

I’ve served as President of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, the professional association for educational development. I was named Inaugural Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Mount Holyoke College, and Senior Scholar, American Association for Higher Education (AAHE). I’ve worked in some 15 countries and was 2019-2020 Educator-in-Residence at the National University of Singapore, a Fulbright Specialist to Education City, Qatar, a Distinguished Visiting Professor, American University in Cairo, Egypt, and a Whiting Foundation Fellow, National University of Ireland Galway.

Research interests:

My research is in the areas of faculty development, mentoring, scholarly writing, improvement of teaching and learning, and the role of teaching centers in fostering 21st century faculty learning. I’ve published over 100 articles, book chapters and books, recently authoring, The evaluation of faculty development programs in the United States. A fifty-year retrospective (2020) and co-authoring A Center for Teaching and Learning Matrix (2019), Institutional commitment to teaching excellence (2017), Faculty development in the age of evidence (2016) and Creating the future of faculty development (2006). I’ve led, advised, and evaluated external grant-funded projects aimed at promoting educational innovation that include The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Microsoft, NSF, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Awards:

During my years leading CTL, we were the proud recipient of the POD Network’s Robert J. Menges Award for Outstanding Research, three POD Network Innovation Awards for work in scholarly writing, mentoring, and diversity, and a national Hesburgh Award for Faculty Development to Enhance Undergraduate Teaching and Learning. The CTL also was cited as a Model Faculty Development Program in the U.S. and Canada. I was honored to receive the Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award for outstanding lifetime achievement and leadership in the enhancement of teaching, learning, and faculty development. I was awarded the UMass Distinguished Alumni Award for distinguished professional achievement and the Lifetime Achievement Award, ACE Massachusetts Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education, for leadership and promotion of women in the field of higher education.

Education:

I hold a doctorate in higher educational policy, research and leadership from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a master’s degree in English from Mount Holyoke College.