Sacred Heart University

Maureen F. Ruby, DMD, Ph.D is the Isabelle Farrington Endowed Chair of Social, Emotional, & Academic Learning, the Director of The Center of Excellence for Leadership & Innovation, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Literacy Leadership in the Farrington College of Education and Human Development at Sacred Heart University. A dentist-turned-educator, Maureen is a 2000 Connecticut State Teacher of the Year semifinalist. She has worked at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels as a classroom teacher and reading consultant. She holds Connecticut certifications in elementary education (113), special education (165), remedial reading (102), literacy consultancy (097), and leadership at the 092 and 093 levels. Upon receiving her PhD in special education with a focus on literacy (UConn), she served as program coordinator of the Graduate Reading Program at Eastern Connecticut State University (102 and 097 reading certifications). Maureen completed a two-year Ashoka-Changemaker Fellowship at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence in May 2019 and served as a thought partner/advisor for the School Leader Think Tank at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Maureen served in school district Central Offices as Supervisor of Professional Learning and Staff Development, Literacy Supervisor, interim Director of Pupil Services and Special Education, and assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional learning, grants, and human resources. She was the Farrington College of Education Alumni Outstanding Administrator for 2018, and the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education Outstanding Administrator for 2019. Maureen has served as author and principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants totaling $5,362,088 and grant consultant on grants totaling $3,277,488. This work includes serving as co-principal investigator for a $3.9 million federal Early Reading First grant, Community Partners for Early Literacy (CEPL). Her work in the field of artificial intelligence includes numerous conference and school presentations on assessment development in the context of AI. Maureen was a faculty team that developed Sacred Heart University’s interdisciplinary minor in Artificial Intelligence for non-computer science majors (https://www.sacredheart.edu/news-room/news-listing/new-ai-minor-designed-for-non-computer-majors/). Other current research activities focus on educational neuroscience and the science of learning, application of storyboard methodology, curriculum development, SEL, belonging, literacy, and parent support. Maureen is a member of the UNESCO Global Alliance on the Science of Learning. She serves on the board of directors of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council and the Advisory Board of The Language Comprehension Institute, as well as several education committees in state and national organizations. She presents regularly at international, national, and regional conferences. The EDD program at Sacred Heart University is centered on improvement science and the IS approach is use by candidates in their work leading to the DiP. Maureen employs the IS framework/approach in several of her research projects, including an ongoing study in improving deep reading in undergraduate philosophy classes. Additionally, she has spoken on the merits of improvement science in doing research “with” school, rather than “on schools’ for several organizations locally, nationally, and internationally, including at the annual meeting of the UNESCO Global Alliance for the Science of Learning in Paris (12/25). She is currently planning a pilot replication study using IS with colleagues from the University of Queensland. When not supporting schools, teachers, and students, Maureen enjoys time with family, including her eight young grandchildren, jewelry making, reading, Pilates, and Italian food!