Biography

Donald Killeen, Ph.D., is the dean of arts & humanities at Lakeland Community College. Prior to coming to Lakeland Community College, Dr. Killeen held the position of associate dean of liberal arts at Cuyahoga Community College where he established a writing center to assist students and faculty with major writing projects in their courses and was key in computerizing the Freshman Composition program to close the digital divide suffered by inner-city, low-income students. Dr. Killeen also spearheaded a system-wide conversation exploring the changing and vital role that the general education core plays in preparing students for the personal and professional lives afforded them in the 21st Century. Dr. Killeen was previously the national director Transforming Education Through the Arts Challenge (TETAC), a privately funded $15 million national initiative in school reform. Throughout his seven years leading the TETAC project, he turned around and synchronized the troubled initiative and its large and diverse network of stakeholders that included elementary and secondary schools, universities, state departments of education, state arts councils, foundations, community groups, corporations, and arts institutions. He also collaborated with the Annenberg Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop and launch three professional development series that focus on school reform and the arts for K-12 educators. The series reaches over 50,000 schools nationally via the A/CPB Learner Channel and website, Learner.org. From 1987 to 1993, at the University of Hawaii Community College - Windward Community College Campus - Dr. Killeen served as associate dean for instruction, directing faculty and staff in humanities/creative arts, language arts, mathematics, and the Learning Resource Center. In this role, he successfully established both a Hawaiian Studies program and a creative arts program, and secured financial support from the Hawaiian Legislature to fund both efforts. From 1981 to 1987, as associate professor, he was instrumental in developing and teaching English programs for the non-traditional and under-prepared student. Born in Staten Island, New York, Dr. Killeen was raised in Metuchen, New Jersey. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the College of New Jersey, he left to serve in the Peace Corps on the Truk Islands of Micronesia. He then earned his master's degree in community and adult education from the University of Florida. Dr. Killeen holds a doctorate degree in arts policy and administration from The Ohio State University. He resides in Cleveland Heights.