UMass Boston

Within the deep well of her experience are positions she has held as department chair; interim director, co-director, and then director of the Center for Innovative Teaching (CIT, formerly known as the Center for the Improvement of Teaching) from 2008-2015, in which she facilitated many semester-long CIT seminars for pre-tenure and tenured faculty; Graduate Program Director for the Boston Writing Project’s Teaching Writing Certificate Program, and co-facilitator of Junior Faculty Research Seminars since 2020-21.   Since the early years of her career, she has displayed a deep commitment to supporting and mentoring educators; this focus brought Dr. Patmon the invitation to be a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Maine’s College of education and Human Development from 2011-2013.  Dr. Patmon has served on the Board of Directors for several institutions and corporations locally and nationally.  She has been the recipient of several Teacher of the Year awards from various institutions.  Pedagogy is her passion.

Dr. Patmon’s research and teaching interests span the preparation of K-12 teachers for an anti-racist urban public-school context; the experiences and historical contributions of Black Bostonians; and the preparation of teachers (in-service and pre-service) to teach writing (grades p-16).  She is a contributing author to Jim Gray’s seminal text, Teachers at the Center.  One of her most enduring publications is entitled, “Pedagogy for the Professoriate:  The Personal Meets the Political” in the edited text Transforming Classroom Culture:  Inclusive Pedagogical Practices, by Dallalfar, Kingston-Mann, and Sieber.  She was the recipient of the James Bradford Ames Research Scholar award at UMass Boston.  She has lectured and presented her research at professional conferences and universities in diverse settings throughout the U.S. and in countries in South America, South Africa, Asia, and Europe.  In addition to her many academic publications, she is the author of two children’s books.  She is a pianist, violist, and plays the Japanese koto.  Dr. Patmon looks forward to building on the structures and activities that are institutionalized in the Office for Faculty Development, and to expanding professional development opportunities for faculty at all stages of their careers, department chairs, and graduate students in our Graduate Teaching Program.  She looks forward to working collaboratively with faculty and staff to support the Office for Faculty Development initiatives.