Pott College of Science & Engineering “Education” continued from page 1
Letter from the Dean
T
he spring semester has been productive—and busy! As you will read in this edition of The Periodic Review, the Pott College is expanding. We are excited to have the departments of Teacher Education and Physical Education join us and look forward to developing the natural synergies within the expanded college and between the other academic units at USI. We will be working to establish new collaborations and partnerships with our constituents throughout the region and state in order to provide students and faculty with greater opportunities and experiences. This past fall more than 100 educators from throughout the region attended our inaugural Ohio Valley STEM Educators Conference featuring dozens of presentations, demonstrations, and exhibits. The 2011 conference will take place November 5. Gordon Also, this year we added another event to our college’s successful cadre of competitions—the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SeaPerch competition. Our Tri-State Science and Engineering Fair continues to grow with approximately 550 student participants. The work of our Southwest Indiana STEM (SwISTEM) Resource Center is remarkable with more than 1,200 teachers and more than 65,000 students impacted by the activities, competitions, camps, and professional development workshops. In summer 2011, another cohort of students will participate in the college’s National Science Foundation-sponsored Early Undergraduate Research Program. Thirty-six students and more than 20 faculty will conduct research and deliver seminars on their research progress Also this summer, the SwISTEM Resource Center staff and several college faculty will conduct over a dozen on-campus professional development workshops enrolling over 200 regional K-12 STEM teachers. The increasing enrollments in these workshops and the tremendous workshop reviews have solidified the Pott College as a statewide leader in science and math education and professional development. This year, we have been fortunate to receive funding for several initiatives. The Alcoa Foundation has provided funding for the Girls Only (GO) STEM! Camp and engineering scholarships. A Math and Science Partnership grant with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will support summer professional development workshops for K-8 teachers. The Department of Engineering is completing its first year in the new Business and Engineering Center which provides much needed workspace, access, and equipment expansion for this rapidly growing program. We continue to work on developing combined programming for business and engineering and look forward to the development of new curricula and degree programs during the next couple of years. In this newsletter, you will read about some of our outstanding faculty, staff, and student activities and accomplishments. Visit www.usi.edu/science for additional information on these and other items.
Dr. Scott A.Gordon Scott A. Gordon, Dean
Pott College of Science and Engineering
The Periodic Review • Fall 2010
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Pott College’s STEM initiatives align with an interdisciplinary approach to teacher education. Curriculum planning and implementation will be a joint endeavor between faculty in teacher education and faculty in other academic disciplines across the University. Physical education The physical education curriculum offers programs in coaching, kinesiology, sport management, and physical education classes. “Physical education has broadened the curriculum and the class offerings will interact well in the sciences,” Rochon said. Teacher preparation “Teacher preparation has a celebrated history at USI and has been continuously nationally accredited since 1973,” said Rochon. “Teaching is a prestigious career choice, and USI is committed to preparing student teachers to lead the modern classroom. The repositioning of the departments will bring together brilliant minds to elevate teacher preparation so student teachers can both master the subjects they plan to teach and also learn the best teaching methods.” Continuing education for teachers “The University already has a strong reputation for continuing education opportunities for teachers in STEM disciplines—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—and in other fields such as history through Historic Southern Indiana’s Lincoln workshops,” Bennett added. “USI is a site for the National Writing Project program to improve writing and reading.” Council to form Rochon announced a university Teacher Education Council will be formed. “The council will include representatives from the deans, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community to chart a course of action,” he said. More than 4,400 alumni and a current student population of 1,115 undergraduates and 98 graduate students are in the departments joining the Pott College. Bennett also announced the repositioning of the Department of Social Work. It will join the College of Liberal Arts.