Patrick L. Sullivan

Patrick Sullivan, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Missouri State University. He is the former principal/mathematics teacher of Grace Prep High in State College, Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, the school was recognized as one of the top 1% of all private schools in the state of Pennsylvania. Before that, he was the mathematics department head at DeSoto High School and Mill Valley High School in Kansas. At Missouri State University he teaches content and methods courses to preservice teachers and graduate courses that involve strategies for implementing the Standards for Mathematical Practices across mathematical content areas. He is a champion for all students, especially those who have lost hope in understanding mathematics. A recent two-prong initiative he led of a developmental mathematics course coupled with improving the pedagogical training of graduate teaching assistants has already led to a significant increase in the percentage of students achieving success.

Patrick is the current president-elect of the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science in Mathematics Teaching in 1999 (KS) and was recognized as the Missouri Teacher Educator of the Year in 2016. He has presented throughout the United States on best, practical strategies for teaching mathematics, using technology to teach probability and statistics, and advancing students’ understanding of fraction concepts. He is co-author of the book Foundations of Numbers and Operations for Teachers and has published articles in several different journals including Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching Pre-K-12 and The Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom.

Dr. Sullivan received a Bachelor of Science in education from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree in teaching and leadership, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from The Pennsylvania State University.