Donald E. Pierson

Vice Provost for Graduate Education Donald E. Pierson has been a member of the faculty for more than two decades. In addition, he has served as dean of the UMass Lowell Graduate School of Education, and as supervisor of the Center for Field Services and Studies, the University’s outreach to pre-kindergarten through grade 12 schools, since 1985.

Among his other administrative duties, Pierson supervises the Tsongas Industrial History Center, a collaborative with the Lowell National Historic Park, providing instructive field trip experiences to 60,000 children, teachers and parents annually, and serves on the Athletic Committee helping to establish policies to guide the University’s athletic program. He also oversees the TEAMS Academy pilot program for high school students.

Pierson serves on a number of professional boards and organizations, including the executive committee for the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium, the executive board of the Teacher Education Consortium for State Colleges and Universities, the board of the Weston War Memorial Scholarship Fund, and is a founding board member of Weston METCO Scholarship Fund.

In the past he has also been a juror for the Boston Society of Architects to select award-winning designs of K-12 schools, and president of the Massachusetts Association for Colleges of Teacher Education.

Pierson has published numerous educational articles throughout his career, most recently “Partnership Success in Urban School Change” with J.A. Boccia and M.J. Baciagalupo.

Pierson graduated cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in psychology in 1964. He received his master’s in Education in Research in Instruction in 1965 and his Ph.D. in Education in 1970, both from Harvard University.