Villanova Professor Joins State Board of Education

political science professor Colleen A. Sheehan, PhD, has been confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate as a member of the State Board of Education, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett recently announced.

Sheehan—whose primary teaching areas include American Political Theory and Jurisprudence—joined the Villanova faculty in 1986. She also serves as director of the Matthew J. Ryan Center for the Study of Free Institutions and the Public Good at Villanova University. 

Sheehan, a resident of Wayne, Pa., served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 149th Legislative District (Montgomery County) from 1995-96. In 1995, she was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Academic Standards. 

The State Board of Education works closely with the Department of Education, state policymakers, and educators to review, develop and adopt regulations that govern significant components of both basic and higher education in the Commonwealth.  From approving state academic standards for Pennsylvania’s students to setting policies that help ensure educators are effective in delivering related instruction, the Board places considerable emphasis on stakeholder involvement in its policymaking. 

Established in 1963 and reconstituted in 1988, Pennsylvania’s State Board is the nation’s largest, with 21 members, 17 of whom are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate for overlapping, six-year terms.  The Board is comprised of two councils — the Council of Basic Education and the Council of Higher Education — and nine standing committees.