Dan

Sarofian-Butin

Academic Title

Professor, Education

Research Interests
  • Education Policy
  • Higher Education
  • High-Impact Practices
  • Service Learning
  • Teacher Preparation
Research Summary

Dan Sarofian-Butin, PhD, is a Professor of Education in the Winston School of Education & Social Policy at Merrimack College. Dr. Sarofian-Butin is an internationally-recognized authority in the fields of teacher preparation and policy, community engagement and service-learning, and teaching and learning in higher education given the rise of digital learning technologies. He has consulted for, among others, the US Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, MIT, and the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). In addition to his academic research, Dr. Sarofian-Butin engages in a wide range of public scholarship, publishing opinion pieces in the Huffington Post, Times Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and InsideHigherEd. Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Sarofian-Butin was a middle school math & science teacher and the CFO of Teach For America.

Education
  • Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from the University of Virginia
  • M.A. in Liberal Education from St. John’s College
  • B.S. in Management Science from MIT
Areas of Expertise
  • Education Policy
  • Higher Education
  • High-Impact Practices
  • Service Learning
  • Teacher Preparation
Recent Publications

Sarofian-Butin, D. (2023). “Higher education must wrestle harder to escape ChatGPT’s death grip” in Times Higher Education. August 15, 2023.
Sarofian-Butin, D. (2023). “To Outwit ChatGPT, lecturers must embrace it.” in Times Higher Education. February 21, 2023.
Sarofian-Butin, D. (2022). “Are You Smarter Than a 13th Grader?” in InsideHigherEd. September 13, 2022.
Sarofian-Butin, D. (2022). “A Review of Rebecca Natow’s Reexamining the Federal Role in Higher Education”, In Teachers College Record.
Sarofian-Butin, D. (2022). “Saving The University from Itself: Stanley Fish, Higher Education, and The Role of the Public Intellectual.” In J. DeVitis (Ed.) The Future of Higher Education: How Today’s Public Intellectuals Frame the Debate. Stylus Press.

Honors and Awards
  • Author and editor of over one hundred academic publications, including eight books, several of which have been translated into three different languages.
  • One of the top 200 “Public Presence” Education Scholars, as determined by Rick Hess and Education Next, six years in a row (2012-2018)
  • Interviewed in national and international media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Education Week, and the BBC on issues of education and educational policy.
  • Writing Advocate of the Year, Merrimack College, 2020-21.
Professional Experience

Dan Sarofian-Butin, Ph.D., is a full professor in, and was founding Dean of, the Winston School of Education & Social Policy at Merrimack College. Dr. Sarofian-Butin is the author and editor of 100+ academic publications, including eight books.