Dr. Leslie Gates (she/her)

Dr. Leslie Gates is the director of the Vilas A. Prabhu Center for Academic Excellence. In addition to her new role as the director, Dr. Gates is Professor of Art Education in the Department of Art & Design. She teaches courses that have the primary purpose of equipping students to be effective educators. Dr. Gates earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland College Park. Her doctoral program in Teacher Education and Professional Development was the foundation for her active and ongoing involvement in professional development for educators both on and off campus.

On campus, Dr. Gates co-directed Millersville University’s Faculty Mentoring Program from 2020-2022 with Dr. Ollie Dreon, facilitated numerous faculty learning communities, and offered workshops, mentoring, and instructional coaching within the College of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences during the 2024-25 academic year at the request of Dean Zake. Off campus, Dr. Gates planned and hosted state-wide conferences for a professional organization of art educators and has organized many seminars and longer-term professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers.

Dr. Gates’ scholarship focuses on assessment and student-centered pedagogies. The topics of her presentations, publications, and graduate courses often emerge from educators’ problems of practice, in service of her longstanding commitment and desire to provide relevant professional learning opportunities for educators. Her forthcoming book on assessment in art education will be published by Davis Publications later this year.