MCLA’s Sara Steele Receives Best Professor Honor

NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announced that Associate Professor of Psychology Sara Steele has been named Best Professor in the Berkshire Eagle’s Best of the Berkshires 2025 awards. The honor comes after a community voting campaign that saw just over 114,500 digital votes and more than 1,700 print ballots submitted across all categories.

The Best of the Berkshires awards celebrate excellence across numerous categories throughout Berkshire County, recognizing businesses, services, and individuals who make significant contributions to the region.

“It is such an honor to win an award like this, and it was an honor to even be nominated,” Steele said. “I really do care about my teaching and my students, so to win an award related to this is really exciting. MCLA is the place to teach and learn. I’ve worked at other schools, and it’s just not the same. The small class sizes here really let me do what I want to do in the classroom and allows me the opportunity to do demos or have deep discussions during class. The school is also set up well for student support. If you are struggling, there are lots of folks ready and willing to help.”

MCLA President James Birge added that “this recognition speaks to Professor Steele’s dedication to her students and her ability to make a lasting impact both in the classroom and throughout the community. We are incredibly proud to have her as part of our faculty.”

Mark Hayden, a 2024 MCLA graduate who majored in psychology and currently works as a researcher at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, shared his experience as one of Steele’s students.

“Beyond being a gifted teacher, Dr. Steele was an instrumental mentor in my decision to pursue a career in psychology and ultimately a doctorate,” Hayden said. “She cares deeply about her students, offering wise and thoughtful guidance with an unparalleled level of passion and positivity that are both reassuring and inspiring. Her encouragement and deep knowledge of the field have had, and continue to have, a lasting impact on me. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been one of her students.”