Dr. Laurie S. Worrall is Associate Vice President and Dean of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity. She came to Defiance College in July 2007 from DePaul University where she was Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Worrall brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and experience in civic engagement and social responsibility within higher education. From 1998 to 2006, she was the founding executive director for DePaul’s Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning. The Steans Center has grown to become Illinois’ largest academic service learning program in higher education.

Dr. Worrall’s leadership and skill in collaboration enabled the Steans Center to flourish in student participation, community partnerships, and financial growth, including a $5 million gift to endow the Center. DePaul’s Office of Community-based Service Learning in Academic Affairs has grown from 11 courses enrolling 250 students in 1998-99 to more than 150 courses enrolling almost 3,000 students in 2006-07. During the same time period, the Steans Center’s community partners grew from 35 to 150.

She notes that her work in service learning grew through a strong interest in the health and well-being of U.S. cities as well as the state of American democracy. “As the field of service learning has evolved into the area of civic engagement and participatory democracy, that’s where my motivation has gone,” she says. “I’m compelled to do what I can so that the generations that follow have an understanding of how privileged we are in this country and the responsibilities that go along with that privilege.”

Dr. Worrall earned a doctorate of education in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a master of science with distinction in public service management from DePaul University and a bachelor of arts in English from Northern Michigan University.

While at DePaul, she served on the boards of Illinois Campus Compact; Josephinum Academy, a Catholic girls’ school in Chicago; and REST, a comprehensive social service agency serving Chicago’s homeless.

Dr. Laurie Worrall
Dean of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity
PH: 419-783-2553
Email: lworrall@defiance.edu