For Immediate Release - February 11, 2019
Media Contact: Sue McGovern, smcgovern@meca.edu, 781.315.3400
Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) appoints Rachel Somerville, Ed.D. to the faculty of Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program
Rigorous ten-month program prepares the next generation of art educators
PORTLAND, Maine – Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) has appointed Rachel Somerville, Ed.D., to the faculty of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, it was announced by Ian Anderson, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College.
“Rachel Somerville is passionate about preparing the next generation of Art Educators with the knowledge and skills they will need to become the top art educators in the country,” said Anderson. “We are incredibly proud of our MAT program and excited to welcome Rachel to the MAT team.”
Somerville holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Davis, where her doctoral work centered on research that bridges the divide among innovation, community, and education, exploring areas of equity within the education system and the impact that mentor programs have on college enrollment and retention for first-generation students.
She also investigated the emergence of community workspaces or makerspaces within formal education, specifically examining teachers as early implementers of this movement and the academic conditions that foster creativity.
Somerville currently serves as the Art Director for the Westbrook School Department and as an instructor of Art Education at the University of Southern Maine. She will join the MAT team full-time at the beginning of August.
MECA&D’s MAT Program produces passionate teachers
Maine College of Art & Design’s ten-month Master of Arts in Teaching program prepares artists to become effective art educators who creatively engage children and youth to explore art and have fun in the process. Teacher candidates learn to translate their unique qualities as artists into creative teaching practices.
Studio-based, collaborative and eclectic, the rigorous program is divided into three phases: a one-month summer intensive where theory-based courses are taught in an institute-like setting with field experiences beginning on the very first day; a fall semester of courses that include studio art, teaching methods & curriculum building, work in alternative settings, and a consideration of how to manage a classroom for all students; and a spring semester that culminates with a 15-week student teaching experience, enhanced by an action research seminar. The program intentionally begins and ends early so candidates can graduate in time to apply for teaching positions immediately as they open.
Photography above by Kyle Dubay ’18