Dr. Erin Curran serves as the associate dean for the Morrison Family College of Health and has been a dedicated academic for more than 15 years. She brings a broad range of expertise in undergraduate education, academic assessment, program and institutional accreditation, and interdisciplinary curriculum development. Prior to becoming associate dean, Dr. Curran spent 12 years in the Computer and Information Sciences (CISC) Department within the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Thomas. There she served as department chair, helping to implement a new Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree program, re-invigorate the Statistics major with new curricular options, revise both the Computer Science and Statistics minors to enhance interdisciplinarity and access, and develop the interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Data Analytics degree program with myriad disciplines across the university.
Dr. Curran is recognized for her expertise in the development and implementation of assessment systems that yield meaningful information about student learning. As an assessment consultant for the Office of Accreditation and Assessment, she has designed and implemented many course and program assessment strategies for departments across the university. Moreover, she is a long-standing member of the Core Curriculum Assessment Committee that supports assessment activities and processes for the core curriculum at St. Thomas. In 2018, Dr. Curran served as a key member of the Higher Learning Commission Assurance Argument Team, which worked to secure a favorable accreditation review for the university.
Previously, Erin Curran was an occupational therapist whose primary role was to partner with parents, school systems, local governments, and area businesses to implement community-based intervention strategies and preventative education. Her experience as an occupational therapist prompted her to seek a PhD in Research Methodology and Measurement from the University of North Dakota to further understand how to improve the health and well-being of communities.