Current Position and Past Experience
Brian Pellinen serves as the Academic Dean of Professional Studies and Endicott College Boston. He brings to this position more than 20 years of experience in higher education, including experience as a community college vice president, department chair, English/Humanities professor, and various student advising roles.

As the Academic Dean of Professional Studies, Pellinen is responsible for creating programs that increase student access and oversee a curriculum that helps students advance their career options. At Endicott College, Professional Studies includes the evening and off-site (including Military) undergraduate programs as well as online options, Endicott’s summer classes, and January intersession options. In 2012, Dean Pellinen was instrumental in creating two new academic centers for Endicott College, one in Boston and one in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Prior to moving to New England in 2003, Pellinen worked at academic institutions in New Mexico. The opportunity to work at a private college, a state university, and two community colleges, within a short period of time, highlighted the need to increase opportunities and success rates for underserved students. As the Department Chair of Humanities and Social Science at Northern New Mexico Community College, Pellinen redeveloped a model of remedial education, developed a campus writing center, and worked with a consortium of tribal colleges from Montana on a Kellogg Foundation project entitled Family Education Model. This model of education which recognizes the importance of engaging an entire family into a student’s college experience (especially for 1st generation college students) serves as a foundation for much of Brian’s access philosophy.

Education, Honors and Achievements
Pellinen earned his BA in English from the University of Minnesota and his MA in English from York University.