In Memoriam: Janet Arndt
Janet Arndt, dean of Gordon College’s School of Education, passed on Monday, December 13, 2021, following a brief hospitalization for COVID-19. An active AACTE member, Dr. Arndt was the president of the Massachusetts Association of Colleges for Teacher Education at the time of her death.
Dr. Arndt was a 1968 alumna of Gordon College, where she returned and served for more than 25 years in teaching and administrative roles that included Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) licensure officer and director of graduate programs in education. She developed and implemented the Master of Arts in Leadership degree program in 2016 and was instrumental in establishing the School of Education in 2019, being named dean upon its inception.
Prior to her career at Gordon, Dr. Arndt was a public-school teacher, early childhood specialist, guidance counselor and principal. She was also policymaker as a state representative in New Hampshire for 10 years, and past president of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education.
Dr. Arndt earned her bachelor’s in psychology from Gordon, Ed.M. from Boston University, and Ed.D. from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her areas of research were family/school partnerships, transitions, special education, mentoring, and the use of Universal Design for Learning in teacher preparation.
A celebration of life service will take place on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 2 p.m. in the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel and will be livestreamed at www.gordon.edu/chapel/live. Her family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Janet S. Arndt Memorial Fund benefiting the School of Education at Gordon College.
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