An active member of the University of Maryland's College of Education faculty and administration for 20 years, Fassinger will start her new post at CSU Stanislaus in July. She succeeds Carl Brown, who will retire at the end of the current academic year.
"As we launch the new Doctoral program in Educational Leadership this fall, and continue to train the teachers of the future, Ruth Fassinger brings us scholarly and professional distinction, strong leadership skills, and delightful energy and enthusiasm," said William Covino, CSU Stanislaus Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
In addition to her current post of the past two years in the College of Education at Maryland, Fassinger is a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, an affiliate faculty member in Women's Studies, a founding member of the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity, and a founding member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies program.
Fassinger served for five years as Co-Director of the College Park Scholars Advocates for Children program, a university-wide living-learning community serving academically talented first- and second-year undergraduate students. She also served for five years as Director of the College of Education undergraduate Honors Program that focuses on selected junior and senior undergraduate students.
Prior to moving into higher education after earning her Ph.D. in Psychology and becoming a practicing psychologist, Fassinger was a public school teacher for 10 years at both the elementary (second and third grades) and high school (English, drama, and theatre) levels. She remains involved in teaching at the college level, teaming with a colleague to teach an undergraduate English course on identity and difference. Fassinger indicated that she hopes to be able to teach a class at CSU Stanislaus.
Fassinger, who has compiled a long list of published articles during her distinguished career, maintains an active research program while teaching and mentoring graduate students in a demanding professional training program. She serves as a Division President of the American Psychological Association and maintains a small therapy and consultation practice focused on gender, sexuality, and work. Fassinger has received a number of prestigious awards recognizing her scholarly, educational, and service contributions.
Prior to joining the University of Maryland, she served as an instructor and staff psychologist at Arizona State University and at UC Santa Barbara before that. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in English from State University of New York, Fredonia, and a Master's Degree and Ph.D. in Psychology from Ohio State University.