Prof. Mark Mac Lean is a Professor of Teaching in the Department of Mathematics, UBC Vancouver.
Prof. Mac Lean previously served as an elected faculty representative on UBC’s Board of Governors from 2020 to 2023. During his term, he chaired the Learning and Research Committee and was an active member of the Finance Committee, contributing to Board oversight of academic priorities, financial sustainability, and long-term institutional planning. He worked to deepen understanding of UBC’s budget model and financial framework, and consistently advocated for governance decisions firmly grounded in the university’s academic mission.
He also served as President of the UBC Faculty Association (2014–2017), where his presidency emphasized governance, transparency, and the cultivation of a strong, collegial relationship between the Faculty Association and UBC’s administration while navigating complex institutional and labour matters.
His academic leadership includes terms as Undergraduate Chair in Mathematics, overseeing UBC’s largest undergraduate teaching program, and as Academic Director for First-Year Student Initiatives in the Vice-President Students portfolio, where he served as academic lead on cross-campus, evidence-informed initiatives supporting student success and retention.
Prof. Mac Lean’s research examines how students understand mathematics, with collaborative work in comparative judgment and the use of generative AI for formative feedback.
Prof. Mac Lean is deeply committed to Indigenous mathematics education and serves on the organizing committee for Indigenising University Mathematics, an international conference series bringing mathematicians and Indigenous knowledge holders into sustained dialogue about mathematical practice in university spaces. He is also a co-creator of Adventures of Small Number, a multilingual children’s storytelling initiative developed with Prof. Veselin Jungic (SFU) and Indigenous language knowledge holders to support mathematical learning across Indigenous cultures and languages.
Prof. Mac Lean’s teaching and educational leadership have been recognized with a UBC Killam Teaching Prize, the PIMS Education Prize, and the CMS Adrien Pouliot Award.
