Donna L. Wiseman, Ph.D., served as the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland from 2008-2017. Prior to her appointment she served as interim dean of the college during the 2007-08 academic year and was Associate Dean for Academic Programs from 2001-2007.
Before joining the University of Maryland in 2001, she held various leadership positions at Northern Illinois University and Texas A&M University. AFter coming to Maryland she served as a member of the University Committee on Diversity and was the College of Education's equity officer. She is a past chair of the President's Commission on Women's Issues, and served on the Vice President's Advisory Council for Curriculum and Courses and the University International Advisory Committee. During her tenure as dean, Wiseman was involved with a number of professional organizations and agencies at the state and national level. She served on the board of directors of the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions (CADREI) and also the International Consortium on Teacher Education (ICTE). She served as president of the board of directors for the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) and was a member of the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation. Currently, Wiseman is serving on the Prince George's County Public School Board and is a consultant to several educational agencies.
A former public school teacher, Wiseman's professional and scholarly interests include literacy development and instruction, school-university partnerships, teacher professional development, diversity in today's classrooms, and equitable access to education. Wiseman has published numerous books and articles in literacy and teacher education. Her early scholarship centered on children's reading and writing development and readers' responses to children's literature. Her recent scholarly efforts have focused on professional development for teachers who teach in diverse classrooms. Over the past decade, Wiseman has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator for over $10 million in grants.
Wiseman received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Oklahoma State University, her master's degree in reading from Arkansas State University, and her doctorate in reading from the University of Missouri-Columbia.