Andrea Lachance Named SUNY Cortland's Dean of Education

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Andrea Lachance

CORTLAND, NY (05/11/2012)(readMedia)-- Andrea Lachance, a SUNY Cortland faculty member since 1998, was named dean of the School of Education, effective on May 1. Lachance, who served in the position on an interim basis since July, takes the reins of the largest teacher education program in New York state.

"Dr. Lachance's experience in curriculum, personnel issues, grant procurement, policy review and numerous service activities have given her the skills necessary for successful academic administration," said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark J. Prus.

Lachance, who previously had chaired the Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department since 2008, accepted the position after a national search.

"I feel very honored to be given the opportunity to serve as dean," Lachance said. "We have excellent faculty, staff and students, and I am looking forward to continuing our work together."

As dean, she will oversee four academic departments: Childhood/Early Childhood Education; Educational Leadership; Foundations and Social Advocacy; and Literacy.

"The faculty in our school are already working to expand our school partnerships and program offerings to better meet the instructional needs of children in the communities in our region," Lachance said. "My hope is to support that growth so that we can maintain our position as a leader in high-quality teacher preparation."

In addition to receiving more than $1 million in research grant funding from the New York State Education Department, Lachance played a vital role in the College's reaccreditation process with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and in external reviews for National Science Foundation projects.

Prior to her interim dean appointment, Lachance also served as the Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department's undergraduate advisement coordinator from 2002 to 2011 and as interim chair for advisement and curriculum in 2004.

A two-time recipient of the SUNY Cortland Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award, Lachance has served on more than a dozen committees at the College. She was named a SUNY Cortland Research Enrichment and Development Initiative (REDI) fellow in 2009 and was a SUNY Cortland Innovative Teaching Award winner in 2003.

Since receiving her doctorate from Cornell University in 1999, Lachance has evaluated and consulted with several teaching development projects. She has written eight peer-reviewed journal articles, two book chapters in edited volumes and four papers in conference proceedings.

From 1992 to 1998, Lachance served as a reading lab instructor, teaching assistant, instructor and graduate assistant in the Department of Education at Cornell University.

In 1998, she joined SUNY Cortland as an assistant professor of mathematics education. She was promoted to associate professor in 2003 and professor in 2010.

A native of Arlington, Mass., Lachance received a bachelor's degree in English from Boston College. She earned a Master of Science and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Cornell University, where she specialized in mathematics education.

She lives in Ithaca, N.Y., with her husband, Bruce Lauber, a senior research associate in the Natural Resources Department at Cornell, and their two children, Ned Lauber and Maggie Lachance, both students at Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca.

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