News from SUNY Cortland

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Michelle Kelly to Chair Foundations and Social Advocacy Department at SUNY Cortland

CORTLAND, NY (08/25/2008; 1618)(readMedia)-- SUNY Cortland has appointed Michelle Kelly of Cortland, N.Y., as chair of the Foundations and Social Advocacy Department in the School of Education.

Kelly, an associate professor of foundations and social advocacy who has served the College for 10 years, began her three-year appointment on Aug. 1. She has served as interim chair of the department since January 2008.

The Foundations and Social Advocacy Department provides a foundation for educators who choose to teach in inclusive classrooms with children who have disabilities. The program places an emphasis on best practices for children in urban environments with a solid grounding in liberal arts and sciences, coupled with pedagogical instruction in meeting the needs of diverse students. The department offers a B.S. in inclusive special education with a required minor in psychology of the exceptional child, which is offered through the Psychology Department.

Kelly, who joined the College's Foundations and Social Advocacy Department in 1998, was promoted to associate professor in 2003. In addition to teaching, she is a co-founder of the Teacher Educators for Social Justice group, and has served on the College Curriculum Review Committee, Education Policy Committee and is a Faculty Justice for Judicial Affairs.

From 1992-98, Kelly was an instructor in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Utah.

A native of Philipsburg, Pa., Kelly has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Pittsburgh and received her doctorate in educational studies from the University of Utah, where she specialized in multicultural education and foundations of education.

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