Two Florida universities launch major math, science initiatives

November 14, 2007

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Supported by up to $10 million in grant money and state matching funds, two Florida universities today announced a new initiative designed to give a major boost to math and science education in the state’s schools.

Representatives from Florida State University and the University of Florida met in Tallahassee to describe new plans to create programs to recruit more math and science majors into the teaching profession. To support their efforts, each university will receive up to $2.4 million over five years from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), an innovative not-for-profit organization launched by ExxonMobil in early 2007 to address one of the nation’s greatest economic and intellectual threats — the declining number of teachers qualified to effectively teach science, mathematics and computer sciences to K-12 students.

In addition, FSU and UF each will receive support in the amount of $1 million from the Helios Education Foundation, another not-for-profit organization, to fund their respective initiatives. With matching funds provided by the Florida Legislature, each university will have a total of approximately $5 million to launch its program.

“To flourish in the 21st century, the United States must continue to generate intellectual capital that can drive the research and development activities that fuel our economic engine,” said FSU President T.K. Wetherell. “This is dependent on the next generation of scientists. At Florida State University, we are honored to have been selected to play such an important role in helping to develop those scientists.”

“These grants from NMSI and Helios will help University of Florida educators head off a scientific ‘brain drain’ by putting bright scientific minds into teaching positions in public school classrooms,” said UF Provost Janie Fouke. “It’s a great way for the academic world to serve the public and help our nation’s economy.”

At FSU, the new initiative, to be known as FSU-Teach, will be administered by Joseph Travis, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Marcy P. Driscoll, dean of the College of Education. At UF, Tom Dana, director of the School of Teaching and Learning, and Alan Dorsey, chairman of the Department of Physics, will lead that university’s program, which will go by the name of FloridaTeach.

In March 2007, NMSI (www.nationalmathandscience.org) issued a request for proposals for the replication of UTeach, an effective science and mathematics teacher-training program established at the University of Texas at Austin. Fifty-two institutions of higher education from around the United States submitted proposals; of those, 29 then were invited to submit full proposals. After a thorough review, 12 colleges and universities, including FSU and UF, were selected to receive NMSI grant awards.

“I have been impressed by the tremendous results the UTeach program has had in Texas, and I look forward to the great outcomes that will result from expanding this program across the nation,” said Tom Luce, president and CEO of NMSI.

In addition to NMSI, the Helios Education Foundation (www.helios.org) will augment the efforts of both universities.

“The Helios Education Foundation is pleased to support the UTeach initiative, and we’re thrilled that our supporting investment of just over $2 million is helping bring this nationally renowned program to Florida State University and the University of Florida,” said the foundation’s chairman and CEO, Vince Roig. “This initiative helps students excel in the critical areas of math and science, and at the same time it is improving teacher quality and professional development. These strategies are all aligned with our priorities and very fundamental to our mission at the Helios Education Foundation.”

UTeach encourages math and science majors to enter the teaching profession by offering a math and science degree plan integrated with teacher certification, financial assistance and early teaching experiences for undergraduates. The UTeach Institute will provide participating colleges and universities with course materials, operations manuals, consultation and training in establishing successful replications of the UTeach program.

The program has doubled the number of University of Texas at Austin students graduating with math and science teacher certification. Eighty percent of UTeach graduates who entered teaching four years ago still are teaching, compared with a four-year retention rate of 60 percent nationally.

“UTeach has proven to be a very successful model for preparing our next-generation science and math teachers, and we’re very excited to have the opportunity to replicate the program at universities across the United States,” said Mary Ann Rankin, dean of the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. “The more the program spreads, the more fine teachers we will be producing to inspire and educate our nation’s children to discover and create new science and technology for the future.”

NMSI is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help the United States maintain its global leadership position in technological innovation. ExxonMobil contributed an initial $125 million to NMSI’s efforts. Additional donors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. NMSI is committed to the hallmarks of the UTeach program becoming the national standard for math and science teacher preparation.

“As a company that employs 14,000 engineers and scientists, ExxonMobil knows how important it is to provide the best education and training possible for our nation’s young people,” said Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil Corporation. “We are proud to be part of this important effort to begin to address the critical shortage of math and science teachers in our schools.”