Dean Gould Congratulates Outstanding Achievements

Dean Gould extends her congratulations for their outstanding achievements to the mathematics and women's studies departments and to professors Jensen, Maurer, Maynard, Potter, and Schepartz.

Program review of the mathematics department's Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program has yielded significant results. The MAT program provides graduate training for high school mathematics teachers, focusing on in-depth explorations of the aspects of mathematics most relevant to the high school curriculum. External reviewers described it as a model that could serve as a national benchmark for graduate training of experienced high school teachers. They praised not only the quality of the curriculum, but “the careful adaptation of the content of individual courses to the professional needs and ways of understanding of experienced teachers.” As a result of this excellent review, the college and graduate school have partnered to provide enhancements to the MAT program. These will include creation of a program director position, funding to enhance the program's visibility locally and nationally, and development of a speakers series in the teaching of mathematics.

Eric Maurer, director of environmental studies, is a co-principal investigator of a project that received a grant from the EPA's People, Prosperity, and the Planet Program. Environmental studies partnered with the environmental engineering program on the grant proposal, which will examine use of a bioreactor to remove phosphorous from wastewater and reuse it as a plant nutrient. Students involved in the study will travel to Washington D.C. for a competition in the spring, where their work will be evaluated by members of the National Academy of Sciences.