Dr. Ellen Mandel is both a professor in Pace’s communication department and a certified speech pathologist. Her accomplishments range from working with mentally impaired children to teaching presentation skills to CEOs.

For many, however, she is the woman selling baked goods in Miller Hall, who simply will not take no for an answer.

“You know how I tell everyone how much I love cake? So, I ran the cake sale and in two days we collected $2200, and that’s really a lot of nickels and dimes,” Mandel said. “I’m very annoying, that’s what I am, and I made people give. I didn’t care if it was a penny, a dime, so long as you give.”

A committed activist in the fight against cancer, Mandel runs Pace’s Race For The Cure against breast cancer team for the Susan G. Komen foundation. Her team has won as the “largest University team” for the past 25 years. This year, in honor of Mandel, the team has been renamed “Ellen’s army.” Mandel is also involved with Relay For Life.

Even though Mandel’s charity work has been going on for many years, the issue became even more real to her on July 23, 2014 when she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.

She chose to continue teaching during the fall semester because of her love for the job, and because she believes it will help her fight.

“You have to make up your mind that you’re going to fight with all your might because in research studies it’s been shown that attitude is very important,” Mandel said. “You have to keep busy. If you stay home and feel sorry for yourself, you don’t have a chance.”

She added that the company of her students plays a great role in her process as well.

“You need a good support system,” she said. “I have a wonderful family and very good friends, and believe me, my classes have helped me tremendously, and it’s you guys who helped me get through it.”

Despite the trials that she has faced—like chemotherapy, which makes her constantly tired—she feels that having cancer has affected her life in some positive ways, making her appreciate more the life she has. It has also made her realize the importance of empathy for others.

“Walking in these moccasins, it’s making me give even more, and to get others to be involved,” she said. “It is apathy that is so bad; we cannot afford to be apathetic because you don’t know whom it’s going to hit. It’s a disease that kills so many, and not just killing, the suffering.”

Mandel has won numerous awards throughout her career. In 1996 she won the Kenan award, the highest teaching award at Pace. She also won the Carol Russital award in higher education for women, and the Jefferson Award, which allowed her to represent Pace at Washington, for the charity work she does.

Despite her numerous awards, she considers her greatest accomplishment to be her children.

“I think even though I’ve been fortunate enough to win many awards for my teaching, the fact that my children think I’m a good mommy—and they’re grown children, one is 43 and 40—the fact that they say ‘Ma, I mean, there were issues, but you did a very good job,’ to me that’s the greatest achievement,” Mandel said.

Mandel worked for 12 years at Brooklyn College before working at Columbia University as a supervisor for graduate students in speech pathology for a year.

Ultimately, her husband discovered a Pace ad in a newspaper, and decided to take the job because the commute from Rockland County to Brooklyn was too long.

She currently teaches Public Speaking, where she uses what she calls a student-centered approach to teaching. She also believes in the cooperative learning approach to education, often having students work in groups and do projects together.

“I took a lot from the professors that I had, and I saw some that where just terrible and just lectured and didn’t look at you or read their notes,” Mandel said. “The ones that made the greatest impression on me were the ones who taught in the style that I use: extemporaneous speaking, cooperative learning, making contact with students, and listening to what they had to say.”

Mandel has been receiving treatment at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and the doctors are optimistic about her future. She is going on sabbatical next semester to allow herself to go into remission. She plans on making a return to Pace during the Fall 2015 Semester.