About the Professional Development Center

Misson | Staff | Advisory Board | Assessments/Evaluations

Professional Development Center Mission

The SUNY Fredonia Professional Development Center strives to meet the professional development needs of all SUNY Fredonia employees by coordinating and providing educational opportunities for faculty and staff at various stages in their careers, and providing consultation and training opportunities for technology-related issues. The Center's goal is to provide a centralized location for collecting and disseminating information about professional development opportunities taking place on campus and beyond. The Center is committed to fostering a culture in which knowledge and expertise are shared among diverse constituencies and will provide a gathering place in which this dialog can occur.

Establishing the Professional Development Center

In 2006, the Fredonia Plan introduced 21 action items designed to further improve campus performance. Action item #3 of the Fredonia Plan called for the creation of a center that would assist faculty, professional staff, and teacher candidates to further improve and add new dimensions to what they already do in the classroom and in designing courses, programs, and curricula.

In the fall of 2007, the Vice President of Academic Affairs formed the Professional Development Center Committee to research, identify campus needs, and make recommendations for a Professional Development Center. Through a series of surveys and open forums the Professional Development Center Report was written making recommendations for the hiring of a full-time Director and designing a physical space for the Center.

Mission & Bylaws

Staff

"Beez" Lea Ann Schell, PhD
Founding Director of the Professional Development Center

Dr. Schell earned a B.A. in Advertising/Professional Writing from Wheeling Jesuit College in WV, an M.S. in Athletic Administration from Slippery Rock Photograph of Dr. Beez Schell University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University. She has taught a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Pedagogical Methods, Motor Development, History and Philosophy of Sport, Women in Sport, Research Methods, and Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment. Her publications and presentations focus on such diverse subjects as teaching and learning styles, fitness, disability, women athletes, coaching, and physical activity in counseling. She has directed grants on instructional technology and using physical activity with grieving children, and she currently co-directs a major grant designed to promote active lifestyles in students.

A member of the national Professional and Organizational Development Network as well as three disciplinary associations, Dr. Schell was once a player in the Independent Women’s Professional Football League. She brings to this Director position her experience as a talented faculty member, as an organized and energetic collaborator, and as an engaging leader.

Lisa Melohusky
Instructional Designer

Lisa earned a B.A. in Secondary Education, Mathematics from Canisius College and an M.S. in Instructional Design/Educational Technologies from Central Connecticut State University. She has been an adjunct in the Mathematics Department at Buffalo State College and is currently an adjunct in the Mathematics Department at SUNY Fredonia. Before coming to Fredonia, Lisa was at Nardin Academy in Buffalo, NY where she taught basic and advance computer courses, coached cross country and track and field, and was webmaster. Since coming to Fredonia she has been working with ANGEL and Turnitin.com, as well as a wide range of specialty projects.

Professional Development Center Advisory Board

The Professional Development Center Advisory Board will serve in an advisory capacity to the Director of the Professional Development Center. The Board will assist the Director in communicating the campus' vision for the Center, collecting feedback from the campus community regarding potential services and programming, and in the planning and decision-making process as the campus proceeds with the development of the Center. The Board will consist of one faculty member from each of the five teaching areas: Arts, Education, Humanities, Natural Science, and Social Sciences, one member of the library faculty, one educational technologist, one professional staff member from each of the following areas: Administration, Student Affairs, and University Advancement and, one classified staff member.