Patty Westhafer

Dr. Patricia Westhafer completed her baccalaureate degree at James Madison University and taught middle school mathematics, science, and language arts for three years. After earning her master’s degree in reading, she was a Title I reading specialist for Staunton City Schools in Virginia. Dr. Westhafer received her doctorate in education in 1985 from the University of Virginia and has been a faculty member at Mary Baldwin College since that time. As chair of the Education Department, Dr. Westhafer has strengthened and expanded the tradition of preparing pre-service teachers for a teaching career and has shepherded many students into their own classrooms. Her experiences include teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Dr. Westhafer has served on numerous College committees including the Education Committee, Committee on Teaching and Learning, Faculty Status and Evaluation Committee, Educational Policy Committee, President’s Committee for Academic Planning, Master of Arts in Teaching Planning Committee, and the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted Program Planning Committee, to name a few. At the local level, Dr. Westhafer is a charter member of the Valley Alliance for Education and has served as a member of the High Schools that Work Project and Delivery Team. She has served as President of the Shenandoah Valley Reading Council and has been a on the board of the Virginia Reading Association.