New Faculty Profile:

Adrienne Sosin
(Associate Professor, School of Education)

A brief overview of your area of expertise, research and teaching.
In my career I am lucky to have had opportunities to teach all age levels and in multiple environments, including schools and in the business world. As a literacy specialist, I focus on how readers and writers gain and communicate meaning, and on the social aspects of literacy. Before coming to Adelphi I was Associate Professor of Literacy Education at City College of New York, and prior to that I was an Associate Professor of Education and Director of Student Teaching at Pace University. I have also worked as Assistant Vice President and Director of Training in the insurance industry, in Data Processing, and was a New York City middle and high school teacher. My experiences in these different learning environments have led me to develop a number of diverse interests and research topics. I have conducted research in different aspects of learning, including achievement, multicultural education, school-college collaboration, service-learning and qualitative research methodology. I am currently studying technology infusion in teacher education, and the effects technology infusion has on K-12 learning.

Why did you come to Adelphi?
My reasons for selecting Adelphi are numerous, but the most important reason to me was the opportunity to prepare literacy specialists who can develop literacy in their students, thus contributing to the next generation's ability to communicate. I am also pleased that Adelphi emphases liberal education, offers many resources to a diverse student body, and maintains a beautiful campus. In particular, I endorse the conceptual framework of the School of Education, and believe that our mission is highly important and worthy.

What has been your experience so far?
I have been very pleased at the level of response I have received from the Administration, my colleagues in the Faculty, and from the support staff. Most importantly, I am delighted to have already met so many wonderful students. As an example, my Fall 2002 Adolescent Literature class gave me the opportunity to work with highly motivated STEP students and Literacy Master's students whose level of commitment and work was excellent, and made me confident that Adelphi was the right choice.

What do you wish to contribute? What do you feel strongly about in regards to teaching or your specialization?
I hope to be able to contribute to Adelphi in many ways. Since I have studied higher education, adult learning, and teaching as a discipline, I hope to be able to have an impact for the entire institution. I am a Senate representative for the School of Education on our Faculty Senate, and have been active on committees preparing the School of Education's NCATE accreditation application. Most importantly, I want to help Adelphi achieve quality in preparing teachers and literacy specialists for careers in education. It has been said that literacy is the cornerstone of a free society, and I am a strong believer in the power of the word for social justice.

What do you wish to impart to your students?
I am hopeful that my students gain knowledge of our discipline and respect for our profession, but even more importantly, I hope my students gain a love of literacy and the desire and ability to spread their love of literacy to their students.