Mary Bents, Ph.D. Associate dean for undergraduate and professional programs 104 Burton Hall 178 Pillsbury Dr. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 Phone: 612-625-3481 Fax: 612-626-1580 E-mail: mbents@umn.edu

Mary is the associate dean for undergraduate and professional programs in the College of Education and Human Development. She is currently the lead dean for the Teaching and Learning neighborhood. Mary’s interests in educator development, continuing professional education, student services, and organizational development have provided opportunities to support academic programs, to represent the College at the state and national level, and to advance systems that link the goals of students and faculty members.

Taking an active role in the development of undergraduate education in CEHD, she serves as the facilitator of the University’s Council of Undergraduate Deans and provides support to the CEHD Undergraduate Planning Workgroup and the Curriculum Council. She also is a member of the University Associate Deans Group for the Office of Admissions and other University-wide committees. As the lead dean for the Teaching and Learning neighborhood development, she supports blocks such as the Licensed School Professionals block, STEM block, and the State Policy Collaboration block.

Mary has been engaged for several years in the delivery of educator development programs, including work with state policy groups. Mary and her colleagues led a successful review of the professional educator programs by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Both groups have approved these programs through 2013. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE), and is a past president of that organization. She was chair of the national organization that links state teacher education groups (ACSR), and served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE). She serves on several committees for the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Board of Teaching.

Mary regularly makes presentations to state education faculty about state and federal policy impact on education programs. Diversity issues, workplace structures and development, and student support issues have also been topics of study and presentation. Current work with the Minnesota Teacher Education Research Consortium has fostered collaborations with other higher education institutions.

She holds degrees from Luther College in physical education; a master of arts from the University of Minnesota in adult education, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in teacher education.

October 2007