Naorah Rimkunas
Assistant Professor, Associate Director
Couper-Owens Center for ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools
Biography
Naorah Rimkunas, PhD, is Assistant Professor of ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools in the College of ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ and Public Affairs since 2022. Her scholarship and teaching focus on university–school partnerships that advance student learning, educator development, school-based mental health services, and community well-being.
Rimkunas serves as associate director of ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ's Couper-Owens Center for ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools and of the University-Assisted ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools (UACS) National Network at the University of Pennsylvania's Netter Center for ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Partnerships. In these roles, she supports SUNY campuses in imagining and developing UACS initiatives and helps universities across the country launch their own. Rimkunas co-leads the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Engaged Learning Lab (CELL), a growing network connecting ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ faculty with K–12 educators to solve community problems alongside their students. In recognition of her work, she received the 2026 Provost's Award for Faculty Excellence in ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Engaged Teaching.
Rimkunas currently serves as principal investigator on two federally funded school mental health professional development initiatives serving Broome and Tioga Counties, as well as on the New York State ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools Technical Assistance Center for Central and Western New York.
Rimkunas joined the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership (TLEL) in 2022. Her research interests focus on university-school partnerships, community schools, broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEM) education initiatives, and interprofessional collaboration in school-based settings.
She also directs the University-Assisted ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools Regional Training Center for ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Schools, where she provides technical assistance to leaders in higher education to develop strategies for forming university-school partnerships in PK-12 schools. She has led technical assistance projects and evaluations for the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. She holds a joint appointment with TLEL and the Department of Social Work.
Education
- PhD, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ and Public Affairs
- MS, University of North Florida, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- BA, New College of California, Humanities
Research Interests
- University-school partnerships
- ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ schools and university-assisted community schools
- School mental health
- Interprofessional collaboration
Honors and Awards
2026 Provost's Award for Faculty Excellence in ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Engaged Teaching