Susie P. Gonzalez

210-999-8406

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Trinity University Receives $500,000 National Grant to Help Train Math and Science Teachers

Sept. 30, 2003 – To meet the need for more math and science teachers in San Antonio and throughout the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $500,000 grant to Trinity University to recruit and prepare students as math and science educators. The National Science Foundation, which funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering, has established the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors to become K-12 teachers.  Program funds will cover scholarships, stipends, and other programs for students who commit to teaching math and science in high need schools. Trinity’s goal is to graduate about 30 students, including 10 Noyce Scholarship recipients, every year from its five-year Master of Arts in Teaching program, which is nationally recognized for its excellence and commitment to teacher preparation. Paul Kelleher, Murchison Distinguished Professor and chair of education, said he was delighted to have an opportunity to increase the numbers of math and science teachers. “We have a critical need, both locally and nationally, for teachers in these areas,” Professor Kelleher said. “Last year, for example, more than 35 percent of students in area middle and high schools were taught science by someone who did not major in science in college.” Professor Kelleher said a team of Trinity professors, including many from the University’s math and science departments, worked on the grant proposal. The science professors, as well as Trinity’s education faculty, will serve as mentors to students who receive the Noyce scholarships. Science professors include David Ribble, associate professor and chair of biology; Nancy Mills, professor of chemistry; Ed Roy, the Pryon Distinguished Professor of Geosciences; Fred Loxsom, professor of physics and associate vice president of academic affairs; Jeff Lawson, associate professor of mathematics; and Vadim Ponomarenko, assistant professor of mathematics.  “All the sciences are areas in which good teachers are needed, not only in Texas but throughout the United States,” said Professor Roy, a long-time advocate for science education. “Having well-educated young people to go into a science classroom is one way to spark the love of science among students across America.” According to the NSF, the nation’s schools will need 240,000 middle and high school math and science teachers in the next decade because of projected enrollment increases, anticipated retirements, and attrition of new teachers. Teachers’ content knowledge, particularly in math and science, is a determining factor in student achievement. To be eligible for the Noyce scholarships, students must be math or science majors at Trinity or at another university and who have been accepted into Trinity’s fifth-year program to obtain a master’s degree in teaching. For more information, contact the education department at (210) 999-7501.

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Last updated on October 2, 2003 by the Office of Public Relations