Deirdre Donovan Named Inaugural Director of First-Year Math

Wentworth Institute of Technology has welcomed Deirdre Donovan, Ed.D. as its director of First-Year Math, a new position aimed at supporting student success in foundational mathematics courses. 

Reporting to the Dean of the School of Computing & Data Science Durga Suresh-Menon, Donovan is tasked with developing new pedagogy, creating a training program for instructors, evaluating curriculum, helping implement Wentworth’s new Calculus sequence, working on the logistics of an observation program for all sections of foundational mathematics courses, and establishing partners across campus for collaboration. 

Donovan’s career has focused on first-year programs, student success, and diversity and equity issues related to mathematics and STEM (science, engineering, technology, math).  She has studied problem solving in introductory statistics students as well as the impact of individualized online foundational math courses, and she co-founded a research-based STEM Fellows program. Most recently, she conducted analysis for an ongoing discrimination study examining the lived experiences of undergraduate students. 

Donovan completed a B.S. in Mathematics from Boston College. She earned her M.Ed. and Ed.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  

Prior to joining Wentworth, Donovan was program chair for mathematics, data analytics, and cybersecurity at Lasell University. Chairing three unique data-rich disciplines under one umbrella enabled an interdisciplinary approach to meeting student needs and curricular development. She was also responsible for the development and implementation of university-wide quantitative reasoning initiatives.