COLLEGE
WELCOMES NEW ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR EDUCATION
Dr. Linda Patriarca has been named Associate Dean for the Education Division at Caldwell College.
Dr. Patriarca comes to us from Michigan where she served as a faculty member in the College of Education at Michigan State University for over 25 years. Her most recent positions include: Coordinator of Special Education Programs and Services at Michigan State University; Program Director, Graduate and Undergraduate Programs in Special Education at the University of Detroit-Mercy; Contracted Consultant, Wayne County Regional Service Agency and Contracted Consultant, Michigan Department of Education.
Dr. Paul Douillard Vice President and Dean For Academic Affairs said, “We are delighted that Dr. Patriarca has joined the Caldwell College community. Dr. Patriarca brings with her over twenty years of experience in American higher education. Her knowledge and expertise should prove invaluable as the education programs at the college continue to grow and mature.”
During the past five years Dr. Patriarca has directed two- funded grant projects. One of those projects was a demonstration/research program aimed at improving academic outcomes for middle school students with mild disabilities in urban settings. The work brought together teachers, doctoral students and university faculty in collaborative efforts to design and document effective educational environments where prospective teachers could learn to teach. The other project was a U.S. Department of Education Leadership Preparation Grant where Dr. Patriarca engaged doctoral candidates in program development and research in urban settings.
In addition to her funded research and leadership training projects, Dr. Patriarca has served and continues to serve on several boards and appointed task forces. Two of the most recent appointments include serving as a national professional advisory board member to the Learning Disabilities Association of America and professional consultant to the Michigan Department of Education’s State Improvement Initiative, which focused on improving academic outcomes for students with special needs.
Dr. Patriarca serves as the national president of the Teacher Education Division (TED) of the International Council for Exceptional Children. In this four-year term of service, she served as Vice-President (2004), President-Elect (2005), currently serves as President, and in 2007 will continue her role as Immediate Past-President of the organization.
Dr. Patriarca says she sees the many challenges facing education today. “Caldwell College has an important role to play not only in addressing these challenges but also in helping to impact responses to them,” said Patriarca. “Among the most challenging are the increasing diversity of the K-12 population and its implications for teaching, teacher education and leadership development, the standards and accountability movements dominating the agenda both in public schools and universities and the documented shortages of teachers and teacher educators in several key areas of education such as mathematics, science and special education.” She said, “As a professional, I am delighted to be given the opportunity to join the Caldwell College family as the new Associate Dean of the Education Division and to use my talents/abilities—in collaboration with others—to shape the future of this important division at Caldwell College.” Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she is a native New Jerseyan. “I am thrilled to be back home. I look forward to spending lots of quality time with my Mom and Dad, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins!”