Middlesex Community College

Dr. Sarah (Sally) Quast – Co-coordinator SoTL Community, Middlesex. Dr. Quast has been a community college instructor at MCC for over 25 years.  She earned a master’s degree in Chemistry and recently completed her doctoral degree in Education from the Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership at Walden University in College Teaching and Learning.  The focus of her research was the persistence and retention of STEM majors in community colleges Dr. Quast worked on the Massachusetts state-wide transfer alignment team (MAST). Dr. Quast has fulfilled leadership responsibilities as department chair of Science, Faculty-Staff Association President (MCC), member of the MCC Faculty-Administration leadership team, and MACER (administration-faculty/staff local negotiation team) chair and co-chair of the bylaws committee.  Dr. Quast for the previous 15 years has been a member of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Community (SoTL) community and the co-coordinator of SoTL at Middlesex for last ten years. The current action research for the SoTL community is focused on equity-mindedness and student persistence and retention. 

Jill Keller is Department Chair and Professor of English. She originally began at MCC as an adjunct instructor in 1992 after completing her MA at Boston University and BA at Brandeis University. Her teaching interests are Early/Modern World Literature, Modern American, Shakespeare, and British Literature, as well as Comp 1, Comp 2, and the Accelerated Learning Program. One of her professional interests is infusing her composition courses with Positive Psychology, which focuses on developing individual strengths in and out of the classroom. Another is serving as co-coordinator of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Group on campus. She is deeply grateful and inspired to teach and learn here for so many years with her wonderful students and colleagues.

Binnur Ercem is a professor of Sociology and Cultural Anthropology. She is also the director of Commonwealth Honors Program. She has been teaching at Middlesex Community College since 2004. Before coming to MCC, she has taught at Northeastern University, Mt. Ida College and Lasell College. Her areas of interest are social justice, diversity and globalization. She has an MA degree from Northeastern University in Cultural Anthropology, another MA degree in Sociology from Cumhuriyet University, and a BA degree in Sociology from Middle East Technical University. She has been a member of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning community at MCC since its inception.

Audrey Nahabedian is the Dean of Enrollment Management at Middlesex Community College (MCC). She has over 20 years of experience at MCC and has served in previous positions as the college Registrar and Program Manager in Workforce Development. Audrey’s interests and focus are on assisting students in having positive and supportive experiences throughout the enrollment lifecycle, from admissions through registration and graduation. Prior to coming to MCC, Audrey had a career in industry, having worked for manufacturing, consumer electronics, retail, and service companies.  She has a PhD from the University of Massachusetts Boston, an MBA from Harvard University, and a BA from Wellesley College.  Audrey has been a member of the SoTL Launch Group since 2018.

Susan Hutchinson: From Mrs. Dorothy Sweatt's Kindergarten class to Prof. Petra Hesse's graduate course in Developmental Psychology, inspired teaching opened portals for me to the magnitude and bounty of limitless learning. Now wearing those same teaching shoes, I feel a deep commitment to an enlivened classroom where students feel empowered, encouraged, and valued. My professional background includes positions in management, public service, client development , and education. I currently serve as a full time Academic Counselor in addition to my responsibilities as part-time faculty at Middlesex. The combined roles are synergistic and mutually reinforcing. SoTL synthesizes systematic inquiry into enlightened, effective pedagogy, and it's premise is the lifeblood of inspired teaching. This is why I embrace my membership with this dynamic community of committed educational leaders.