Marcy Peteroy-Kelly is New Dean of the School of Science
Peteroy-Kelly joins Manhattan College after nearly two decades in the biology department at Pace University.
Marcy Peteroy-Kelly, Ph.D., has been appointed as the dean of Manhattan College’s School of Science, effective July 1, 2022.
Peteroy-Kelly joins the College after serving as the department chair and professor of biology at Pace University’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences. Peteroy-Kelly has been at Pace since 2003, advancing from an assistant professor of biology, to associate professor, then to full professor in 2011.
“Noted in her references for her excellence as a strong and inspiring leader, Dr. Peteroy-Kelly has shown special strength in working with faculty and other stakeholders in the development of innovative majors and minors,” Manhattan College President Brennan O’Donnell said in an announcement to the community.
“I extend our deep gratitude to Dr. Janet McShane, who has served so well since July 2020 as interim dean of the School of Science,” O’Donnell wrote. “The many successes of the School of Science under Dean McShane’s guidance will help assure that our new dean will have an excellent foundation on which to build.”
As department chair at Pace, Peteroy-Kelly was responsible for the academic, scholarly and administrative functioning of a bi-campus department (2008-11) and single campus department (2018-22) that offered 11 degree programs in sub-disciplines of biology and the health sciences.
Peteroy-Kelly has also served as the course coordinator for the first-year biology curriculum, and as a faculty center teaching and learning fellow. In that role, Peteroy-Kelly worked with other departments at Pace to adopt best practices in undergraduate education.
As department chair, Peteroy-Kelly supported the professional development of all faculty, overseeing 12 faculty through the tenure/promotion process to associate professor or promotion to full professor processes, and four faculty through the mid-tenure review process. She also created a holistic, departmental advising program using an inclusive, strategic caseload management model to ensure that every student in Pace’s programs meet with both a faculty mentor and professional advisor every semester to foster their academic, professional and personal success.
Since 2015, she has been one of 50 Vision and Change Leadership Fellows in the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE). Organized by the National Science Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Institute of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Peteroy-Kelly works with other colleagues across the country to perform on-site evaluations of biology departments and analyze site visit data to determine the levers and barriers associated with department level change with the goal of enhancing student success.
Peteroy-Kelly received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Buffalo, and her Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.