Mark Harrington, EdD | Canisius University

Associate Professor and Program Director / Acting Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences

Higher Education Leadership and Administration (HELA)

Ed.D., Higher Education Leadership - Regis College
M.S., College Student Personnel Administration - Canisius University
M.S., Sport Administration - Canisius University
B.A., Counseling & Health Psychology - Emmanuel College
Certificate, Diversity & Inclusion - University of South Florida
Certificate, Educational Leadership - University of Oxford
Certificate, Mission Integration - University of San Diego

(716) 888-2937

Office

Old Main 318 (Academic Affairs Office) / Churchill Tower 1109 (Faculty Office)

Linkedin,

Dr. Mark Harrington joined the Canisius community in fall 2018 as assistant professor of education and leadership and director of the graduate program in Higher Education Leadership and Administration (HELA). Dr. Harrington served as a faculty-administrator for 5 academic years (2019-2024) as AVP for Academic Affairs and Student Success and a member of the President's Leadership Council. As AVP, Dr. Harrington oversaw many academic affairs operations, student success, advising, internships and career development, high-impact practices, experiential learning, Tri-Delta Honor Society, global initiatives, and special academic events/programs. After 5 academic years of service as AVP, Dr. Harrington returned to his faculty appointment in the School of Education and Human Services to prepare for tenure and promotion. Due to an academic leadership transition during the 2024-2025 academic year, Dr. Harrington has served as Acting Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining the Canisius faculty, Dr. Harrington spent a decade in higher education administration and student-centered roles.

Dr. Harrington teaches courses in higher education organizational leadership and management, strategic planning, student success, assessment and research, counseling and advising, financial management, as well as independent research and seminars. Additionally, Dr. Harrington oversees all internship and practicum experiences for the higher education program. Within the campus community, Dr. Harrington is a faculty representative of the Library Advisory Board, founding member of the New Buffalo Institute (Community Engagement) Council, and founder/advisor for Delta Gamma chapter of the Tri-Delta first-generation honor society.

In spring of 2022, Dr. Harrington was elected by his faculty colleagues to serve as the School of Education and Human Services representative of the Academic Program Board (APB). The APB is comprised of academic administrators, key faculty by virtue of their position (e.g. Chair of the Faculty Senate, Chair of the Core Curriculum Committee), and elected faculty. The committee is advisory to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The APB oversees development and revision of program curriculum (except the core curriculum), academic program review, development and revision of academic policies, review of requests for faculty positions, and requests for departmental restructures or changes to department names. In spring of 2024, Dr. Harrington was reelected for a second term from 2024 to 2026.

In 2023, Dr. Harrington was elected in the volunteer leadership role of founding chair and president of the Jesuit Student Success Network where he leads strategic efforts and professional development for his student success colleagues across the 27 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU).

Previously as AVP, Dr. Harrington chaired a number of campus-wide initiatives including the University Retention Committee. Additionally in his faculty-administrator role, Dr. Harrington had successfully implemented many high-impact practices fostering academic success including first-year experience, transfer student services, student success teams, pre-college programs, career/major exploration initiatives, and academic success courses.

For the last 17+ years, he has been an educator and advocate for student success in positions within academic affairs, advancement and alumni relations, and student life at Canisius University, Regis College, Emmanuel College, Merrimack College, Loyola University New Orleans, and the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Harrington has also served as a faculty member and trip leader for service-immersion experiences domestically and internationally. He has a strong commitment to community engagement and college access including service on the Board of Directors at Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School and Mission Grammar School.

Dr. Mark Harrington earned his bachelor’s degree from Emmanuel College in Counseling and Health Psychology, master’s degrees in College Student Personnel and Sport Administration from Canisius University, and doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Regis College. He has participated in national and international leadership development experiences including the Institute for Administrators in Catholic Higher Education at Boston College and the Education Leaders Roundtable at the University of Oxford.

Courses Taught

FYE 101: First Year Experience
GRIFF 150: Canisius Compass (Academic Success Course)
SOC 100: The Architecture of Identity-Finding Your Purpose in Society (Career/Major Exploration Course)
SPMT 480: Research Methods
HESA 501: Organization and Administration of Higher Education
HESA 535: Assessment and Advanced Research
HESA 599: Independent Study
HESA 620: Counseling and Advising for Student Success
HESA 677: Higher Education Leadership and Management
HESA 680: Internship 1
HESA 681: Internship 2
HESA 690: Special Topics in Higher Education
HESA 698: Comprehensive Seminar

Awards and Recognition

Academic Excellence Award: Outstanding Doctoral Student
Regis College

Best Conference Paper Award
International Organization of Social Sciences and Behavioral Research (IOSSBR) Global Conference

Class Leadership Award
Emmanuel College

College Student Personnel Administration Community Development Award
Canisius University

Distinguished Service to the Profession Award
College Student Personnel Administration-New York State (CSPA-NYS)

Eminence in Mentorship Award
College Student Personnel Administration-New York State (CSPA-NYS)

Ignatian Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Jesuit Student Affairs
Jesuit Association for Student Affairs Administrators (JASPA)

Jennifer Grace Ford Campus Leadership Award
Emmanuel College

Leadership in Action Award
Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society

Mission Integration Award
Association of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU)

Scholarship Excellence Award
Jesuit Association for Student Affairs Administrators (JASPA)

Select Presentations and Publications

Harrington, M. (2024). Meeting in the middle: Faculty perspectives on the state of graduate preparation and entry to the profession. About Campus, 29(1).

Harrington, M. (2023, October 23-26). From pilot to full implementation: Utilization of pilot programs to showcase impact on student success to gain leadership support and initiative funding [Conference session]. The National Symposium on Student Retention, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Harrington, M. (2023, October 15-17). Creating and implementing student success initiatives with an equity-minded lens [Conference session]. The College Student Personnel Association of New York State (CSPA-NYS) Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, United States.

Harrington, M. (2023, October 15-17). Strategy and student success: Using data and a retention predictive model to shift from a reactive to a proactive campus [Conference session]. The College Student Personnel Association of New York State (CSPA-NYS) Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, United States.

Halligan-Avery, E. & Harrington, M. (2023, April 1-5). Connecting students to mental health resources leveraging the cloud [Conference session]. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators National Conference, Boston, MA, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, October 24-27). Reimagining a campus-wide retention committee: Developing an effective working retention committee based upon our retention predictive model [Conference session]. The National Symposium on Student Retention, San Diego, CA, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, October 24-27). Stay golden, griffins: SOARing into a comprehensive and inclusive student success and retention model [Conference session]. The National Symposium on Student Retention, San Diego, CA, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, October 16-18). Leading divisional renovation: Assessing, innovating, and partnering to build a culture of student success [Conference session]. The College Student Personnel Association of New York State (CSPA-NYS) Annual Conference, Binghamton, NY, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, July 14-16). Go forth and set the world on fire with a career in higher education and student affairs [Conference session]. National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference, Baltimore, MD, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, July 10-13). Re-envisioning student success and retention in American higher education: Creating student-centered environments of belonging, support, and persistence [Paper presentation]. International Round Table Symposium, Oxford, England, United Kingdom.

Harrington, M. & Wilson, A. (2022, June 20-22). Bridging the great divide: From professional preparation to supervisor expectations [Conference session]. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Conference, Niagara Falls, NY, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, March 15-16). The academic impact of support programs and systems for students placed at-risk during the transition to college [Paper presentation]. International Organization of Social Sciences and Behavioral Research (IOSSBR) Global Conference, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, February 16). Reimaging institution-wide student success and retention: Using data, assessment, and conversation to create an inclusive and best-practices model [Conference session]. WNY Advising Annual Conference, Virtual, NY, United States.

Harrington, M. (2022, January 28). Mission Grammar School utilizes the 7 themes of Catholic social teaching as a map to ensure scholars are on the road to college! The Boston Pilot.

Harrington, M. (2021, October 18–21). Improving student achievement in higher education: Implementation of a strategic support system to increase student persistence and academic success [Conference session]. The College Student Personnel Association of New York State (CSPA-NYS) Annual Conference, Virtual, NY, United States.

Harrington, M. (2021, September 24). Five Years of Campus Improvement at Mission Grammar School. The Boston Pilot.

Harrington, M. (2018, February 23–25). Building effective campus partnerships for first year student success [Conference session]. Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher Education (NODA) Conference, Burlington, VT, United States.

Harrington, M. (2016, April 27–29). Leadership and mission: Understanding the relationship among leadership orientations and mission perception of executive administrators in Catholic higher education [Poster presentation]. New England Educational Research Organization (NEERO) Annual Conference, Portsmouth, NH, United States.

Harrington, M. (2015, May 29). Our Lady of Perpetual Help -- Mission Grammar School at 125. The Boston Pilot.

Harrington, M. (2013, July 23–26). Best practices for mission integration: The 1804 Society [Conference session]. The Association of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU) National Conference, Washington, DC, United States.

Harrington, M., Kohler, C., & Troup, R. (2010, March 21–24). Jesuit pedagogy as a framework for programming and assessment [Conference session]. The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) National Conference, Boston, MA, United States.

Harrington, M. (2010, February 26–28). Living a life for and with others: The importance of servant leadership for a better tomorrow. [Keynote address]. The Buffalo Youth Convention, Buffalo, NY, United States.

*Forthcoming publications and presentations