Nan L. McDonald, Ed.D., is currently an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at San Diego State University's School of Music and Dance. With over 30 years of teaching experience in preschool, K-university level music education,  integrated arts for classroom teachers, music and early literacy development, and classroom discipline and management, Dr. McDonald is actively involved in training both future and practicing music and classroom teachers.

In 2003, Dr. McDonald was awarded the prestigious “Monty”, the SDSU Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to the University for the SDSU College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. She has twice been designated as the Outstanding Faculty Member in both Liberal Studies (1999) and School of Music and Dance (2005) and has been honored as the California Outstanding University Music Educator (2000) by the California Music Educators Association. 
 

Dr. McDonald is the author of numerous scholarly articles in national and international publications. She is also a Program Author for Pearson Education/Scott Foresman, Silver Burdett Music’s K-8 national basal text series in music, Making Music © 2002, 2005 and Making Music With the Arts Across the Curriculum © 2008. Dr. McDonald and SDSU colleague, Dr. Douglas Fisher, have written two books for classroom teacher education entitled Teaching Literacy Through the Arts: A Guidebook for Teachers by Guilford Publications, 2006, and Developing Arts-Loving Readers: Top Ten Questions Teachers are Asking about Integrated Arts Education published by Rowan & Littlefield, 2002.  Dr. McDonald is currently writing an integrated arts methods text for graduate education courses which will be published by Pearson Education/Merrill/ Prentice Hall in 2009.

In addition to her writing and teaching background, Dr. McDonald co-authored and performed professionally in over 300 performances of "Literature Alive", a music, dance, and drama performance series to promote reading in the elementary school. She was twice elected the Executive State Vice President of the California Music Educators Association (1994-1998) and continues to collaborate with many school districts and universities nationwide in professional growth offerings and curriculum development for practicing arts specialists and classroom teachers.