News

May 26, 2015

Sage Names New Dean of Russell Sage College

TROY, NY – The Sage Colleges is pleased to announce that Deborah Lawrence, Ph.D., has been appointed Dean of Russell Sage College. Lawrence will replace Donna Heald who will assume the role of Associate Provost of The Sage Colleges. Lawrence will begin her new position June 1.

Deborah Lawrence_1Lawrence has been a member of the faculty at Sage since 1994. She served as assistant professor of Mathematics, was promoted to associate professor in 2000 and then professor in spring of 2015. Prior to Sage, she was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Lawrence earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The State University of New York at Albany in the area of dynamical systems, and graduated from Russell Sage College as valedictorian with a B.A. in Mathematics.

“We are so proud to welcome Deborah into this critical leadership role during such an exciting time in the history of The Sage Colleges,” said Sage president Susan Scrimshaw. “She is an incredible mentor and advocate for our students and she will provide strong academic leadership and vision for the future of Russell Sage College as we head into our Centennial and beyond.”

“I am honored and excited to have been named the next Dean of Russell Sage College, especially as an alumna,” shared Lawrence. “I am very much looking forward to working with students, faculty, other administrators and alumnae as we chart the course for Sage’s second century.”

As Dean, Lawrence will support new and evolving pedagogies, civic engagement, global and diverse educational programming, and undergraduate research. She will maintain an active presence in the internal and external communities and work collaboratively with the Office of Student Life to ensure a culturally and intellectually enriching student-centered environment.

While at Sage, Lawrence has served on and chaired a variety of committees including Faculty Development, Program Review and the Committee on Admission and Academic Standards. Jointly with professor Tina Mancuso, she has secured nearly $1 million in grant funding to promote girls’ participation in STEM fields via programs for middle and high school girls as well as scholarship funding at Sage. More recently, she has been the faculty lead for Sage Seminar and founding co-director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Media Contact: Deanna Cohen, director of external relations, The Sage Colleges (518) 244-4593 (O), (518) 598-4927 (C), email: cohend2@sage.edu __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABOUT SAGE Interdisciplinary academics, combining the professions and the liberal arts, community engagement, international exposure, and artistic and athletic endeavors are among the pillars of the educational experience at The Sage Colleges. Sage enrolls more than 3,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs at the undergraduate Russell Sage College for women in Troy, N.Y.; the coeducational undergraduate Sage College of Albany in Albany, N.Y.; and the graduate-level Esteves School of Education, School of Health Sciences and School of Management, with programs on both campuses; adult education through the School of Professional and Continuing Education and via the Internet through Russell Sage Online.