Dr. Mathew L. Ouellett is the founding executive director of the Center for Teaching Innovation, joining the Cornell community from Wayne State University where he served as associate provost and director of the Office for Teaching and Learning. Earlier, Matt held increasingly responsible positions at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as senior lecturer and the director of the Center for Teaching. Matt has regularly been the recipient of internal and external research support acting as primary or co-primary investigator on three National Science Foundation-funded grants. He has edited two collections and authored or co‐authored over 40 peer‐reviewed articles and book chapters. Most recently, with Christine Stanley, Friendship in Educational Development: Reflections on Intersectional Identities and Inclusive Professional Practices (2019). He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at UMass Amherst and Smith College School of Social Work. Most recently, he co-teaches Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom, a Cornell University MOOC on edX.
Matt has been the recipient of numerous university and national awards. In 2014, the Wayne State University Student Senate awarded him the Student Senate Administrator of the Year Award, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. In 2012, he was honored with the Robert Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award for outstanding lifetime achievement and leadership in the enhancement of teaching, learning, and faculty development. He served as president / executive board member of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, 2005 – 2008. He has won the POD Innovation Award twice (2020, 2002). He served as president of the New England Faculty Development Consortium Advisory Board, 2000 – 2002. In 2000, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Teaching received the Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for a faculty development program that enhances undergraduate teaching and learning. And, in 1994 he was honored with the Award for Outstanding Bravery and Courage, Medal for Civilian Service, Division of Public Safety, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Matt has provided faculty development and diversity consultations in international settings that include Barbados, Canada, Japan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam as well as across the United States. Matt received his Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, his M.L.A. from Goddard College, and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nevada Reno.