Mary Jo Pierantozzi, MS, was an Assistant Professor and the Program Coordinator for Undergraduate Education until she retired from Gwynedd Mercy University in May 2023. She has been in the field of Education for more than fifty-five years, twenty-one of them full-time at GMercyU. In May 2023, Mary Jo was named Professor Emerita and also received the Faculty Excellence Award for Service.  She now serves as the dean of the Community of Practice for Education at Cranaleith Spiritual Center.

Her areas of expertise include social studies, multiple intelligences, cooperative learning, flipped classroom, math and science, middle school and elementary instructional strategies. In 2011, Mary Jo was the recipient of the Lindback Award for Excellence in Teaching and was also selected by the senior class to give the Last Lecture at the senior toast.

She has presented both nationally and internationally on many topics in education including math, social studies, hybrid online courses, flipped classroom, and cooperative learning.

Mary Jo is an Associate in Mercy and an honorary member of Sigma Phi Sigma, the National Mercy Honor Society as well as a Steward in the Mission Leadership Academy, having been a member of the original planning team for the MLA.

She has been involved with many student organizations and activities over the years, including student retreats, Alternative Spring Breaks as well as serving as advisor for GMercyU’s Best Buddies’ Chapter and for the Phi Alpha Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society for Education. Mary Jo was the recipient of four President’s Mini Grants for her TAP (Teacher Apprentice Program) Immersion Experience for students.