Award-winning educational expert appointed Visiting Professor

Multi-award-winning educational expert and best-selling author Sarah Mullin MBE has been appointed as a Visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland. 

Widely recognised for her significant and sustained contributions to the field of education, Visiting Professor Mullin will be joining the University’s School of Education where her extensive knowledge and vast school leadership experience will contribute towards the Faculty’s continued success in developing outstanding early career teachers, as well as supporting aspiring and practising teachers. 

A Queen’s University Belfast graduate, Visiting Professor Mullin is renowned for having demonstrable impact in raising standards and driving school improvement in addition to supporting thousands of teachers and school leaders internationally. Her best-selling books include What They Didn’t Teach Me on My PGCE and Chronicles From the Classroom, texts which feature on the recommended reading lists of many initial teacher education programmes.

Visiting Professor Mullin is a Chartered Teacher of English and a Chartered Manager, as well as being a Fellow of many organisations including the Chartered Management Institute, the Institute of Leadership and Management, the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered College of Teaching. She is a member of the Secondary Education Committee at the English Association, and she attends the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Teaching Profession. She is an esteemed keynote speaker and a respected contributor to various education texts, blogs, podcasts and journals. Visiting Professor Mullin is also completing her Professional Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Birmingham Newman University.

In 2022, the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Visiting Professor Mullin an MBE for Services to Education in the Platinum Jubilee Birthday Honours. In recent years, she was named an ‘Inspirational Woman’ by We Are the City, an organisation which recognises the female pipeline of talent in the UK. Recent accolades include receiving the ‘Contribution to Education of the Year’ award and the ‘Rising Star in Education’ award. Visiting Professor Mullin was also recognised as a ‘Positive Role Model’ finalist by the ITV National Diversity Awards for her commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in the field of education. 

Speaking about her appointment, Visiting Professor Mullin said:

“I am incredibly honoured to have been invited to join the University of Sunderland as a Visiting Professor. With its global reputation as a centre of excellence, the University of Sunderland provides the perfect place for aspiring teachers to begin their careers in education. 

“I look forward to launching some exciting new initiatives to inspire and support the next generation of teachers and school leaders in order to provide optimum outcomes for young children for many years to come.”

Dean of the Faculty of Education and Society at the University of Sunderland, Professor Lynne McKenna MBE, said:

“I am delighted that Sarah has accepted the position of Visiting Professor in the School of Education. Sarah has made a significant impact supporting entrants to the teaching profession with the publication of her books. I have known Sarah for several years now and have been lucky enough to persuade Sarah to present at #WomenEd International Women’s Day events here at the University of Sunderland.

“Sarah will be contributing to our inductions for new student teachers, our student research conferences and our First Appointments Conference. As a practicing teacher, Sarah is well placed to share her knowledge and experiences of working in the teaching profession with our students and I am sure this will prove to be a fantastic enhancement to student teachers’ experiences at the University of Sunderland.”