About the Dean
William Gaudelli, Ed.D. is the 8th Dean of the College of Education at Lehigh University. Dean Gaudelli’s career spans over 30 years as a classroom teacher, researcher, professor, and academic administrator. A prominent international scholar, his research areas focus on global citizenship education and teacher education and development.
Dr. Gaudelli most recently served as the Chair of the Department of Arts and Humanities, at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to his department chair role, he was both a faculty member and program director of the social studies program. Before joining Columbia in 2006, Dr. Gaudelli held the position of associate professor and program supervisor at the University of Central Florida.
He has published over 80 scholarly pieces and three books, currently researching a fourth book entitled Pedagogy of the Global Event (2023). His research in global citizenship education and teacher development is widely read among scholars and has garnered over 1800 citations on Google Scholar. In his latest book, Global Citizenship Education: Everyday Transcendence, he offers an analysis of global citizenship education in various global locales. Most recently he worked with UNESCO, IIE and PPMI to author a report Teachers have their say: motivation, skills and opportunities to teach education for sustainable development and global citizenship (2021).
Dr. Gaudelli is a frequent keynoter at international conferences and guest lecturer at various universities. Over the past decade, Dr. Gaudelli has given over 50 invited keynotes and talks, most recently in China, Italy, Israel, Thailand, Japan, India, Poland, Hong Kong, Germany and South Korea. He has participated in panel discussions and conferences with UNESCO, UNAI, UNAOC, and WFUNA and a wide-range of professional organizations.
He co-founded the Global Competence Certificate (GCC) program in partnership with Asia Society and World Savvy, two global education non-profits. The GCC is built in an online environment that promotes high-touch interactions between faculty and students while leveraging digital technologies to enhance participant experience. Dr. Gaudelli was also elected to the South Orange-Maplewood School Board in 2011 where he served for over three years, part of the time serving as board vice-president.
Dr. Gaudelli completed his master’s degree in 1995 and his doctoral degree in 2000 at Rutgers University – Graduate School of Education in social studies education. He was named a Rutgers University 250th Revolutionary Scholar in 2016. He taught social studies in the Hunterdon Central Regional High School for ten years prior to moving into higher education.