Notre Dame of Maryland University students, faculty, staff, and community supporters gathered inside MBK Lobby on Thursday, August 31, 2023 as NDMU’s Office of Service & Community Engagement was officially rededicated as the Sister Sharon Slear Center for Service, Social Justice, and Community Engagement.

A Notre Dame graduate who was first appointed to the faculty in 1988, Sister Sharon now serves as Special Projects Assistant to the President after retiring from her role as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs following the 2021-22 academic year. We are forever thankful to Sister Sharon for her many years of service to Notre Dame, Baltimore, and areas in need across the world.

Sister Sharon Slear is a former Professor and Dean of the School of Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University and was instrumental in sponsoring a three group of panamanian students to complete their Masters in Special Education at NDM with the support of the City of Baltimore Public School System. Panamanian students from the Program received a full scholarship and were able to do their teaching internships in public schools in Baltimore and they had the opportunity to work as regular special education teachers for the Baltimore School System for three or more years. We are thankful for the kindness and support of Sister Sharon Slear and the School of Education. Additionally, Sister Sharon led the excellent relationship with Quality Leadership University offering in Panama a joint degree of a Master of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). More than 100 panamanian students graduated from that program and nowdays many of them are professors in QLU Master of Linguistics in English with Specialization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in Panama. QLU is the strongest producer or TESOL Teachers in Panama and recently was tasked to develop the National English Curriculum of Panama by the Ministry of Education and by the American Embassy Regional English Learning Office (RELO) in Panama to conduct the ACCESS program to teach English in different areas of the country.

Sister Sharon Slear also supported the cooperation agreement between Notre Dame of Maryland and Quality Leadership University to build and start Notre Dame Academy of Panama, a Bilingual International PK-12 Private School which started operations this past March, 3rd of 2026.

 

Dr. Sharon Slear
for more information you can visit

https://www.ndm.edu/bulletin/bulletin-september-13-2023