Dr. Dolan received her BS, MFA and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in medieval manuscripts, minoring in medieval architecture and history of astronomy. She taught at the University of Pittsburgh and Carlow University for many years. Now an independent scholar, she continues her research on the transmission of astronomical knowledge and lectures on art history at the NSU Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where she also serves as a docent. Archaeoastronomy has been a lifelong area of study; she has taught the subject many times, including aboard a ship during a cruise around the world as faculty member for Semester at Sea based at the University of Virginia, where she was able to observe firsthand and to teach students at many historic sites.
Dr. Dolan has studied astronomical manuscripts in the libraries of Europe, specializing in the surviving Aratea manuscripts. Her research was published in the book Astronomical Knowledge Transmission Through Illustrated Aratea Manuscripts (Springer, 2017).