Georgia Southern University has established a new institute for interdisciplinary STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education whose focus is excellence in primary, secondary and higher education STEM teaching and learning in rural southeast Georgia.

  The College of Education (COE) was a key player in the initial phases of designing the institute along with administrators from the College of Science and Math (COSM) and the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology (CEIT). "It's our belief that any interdisciplinary STEM initiative must be informed by cutting-edge educational practice," said Dr. Thomas Koballa, COE Dean. COE's role in the institute, in addition to the other core partners - COSM, CEIT and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences - creates a unique institute and the only one in Georgia that brings together an interdisciplinary collaboration to address and integrate all four facets of STEM curriculum while utilizing frontline research and educational practice. Click here for the rest of the article on the STEM institute. 

   For Dr. Alejandro Jose Gallard Martinez, Georgia Southern University has separated itself from other institutions in its commitment to the Hispanic/Latino community. "Georgia Southern has taken a leadership role not just in its attention to the socio-economic problems of this community but in bringing resources to address the problems," said Gallard. And Gallard should know. He is the newly named COE Goizueta Distinguished Chair in Education.

  "The Goizueta Chair's primary duties are in the area of research," said COE Dean Tom Koballa. Gallard will assume a leadership role in developing collaborative initiatives already in place at Georgia Southern to conduct research and assist the Hispanic/Latino community and develop newly funded projects that support improvement in educational settings - both K-12 and higher education, with direct ties to Hispanic and Latino learners.

  "Latinos are the fastest growing demographic in the U.S.," Gallard said. "That means this is the pool the US will draw from. It's critical that we dramatically and significantly improve (secondary and higher) graduation rates.

   "I am so excited to be a part of a university that understands the importance of interdisciplinary and scholarly teams to address the issues of the Hispanic/Latino community," Gallard continued. "Georgia Southern is united to tackle the issues of recruitment, community outreach and scholarship advancement and my goal is to help in this organizing effort," he said.

  Gallard comes to Georgia Southern from the Science Education program at Florida State University. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Science Education and has taught science at the primary, secondary and university levels. He also consults, conducts evaluations, and teaches at the national level in many Spanish-speaking countries. The Goizueta Distinguished Chair in Education was established in 2001 by a grant from the Goizueta Foundation.

2012 Jack Miller Faculty Awardees with Dr. Miller (center). (l-r) Dr. Robert Lake, Dr. Julie Maudlin, Dr. Jack Miller and Dr. Scott Beck.

  Dr. Jack Miller, President of Central Connecticut State University and former Georgia Southern Education Dean announced that he will be doubling the endowment for the Jack Miller Faculty Awards, which he helped endow in 1994. Miller was on hand at the 2012 Fall Faculty and Staff meeting to present the annual Jack Miller Faculty Awards for teaching, scholarship and creativity, and service.

  This year's winner for teaching is Dr. Scott Beck, associate professor in Teaching and Learning. Beck's interests are in diversity in children's and young adult literature, migrant immigration and ESOL education in the rural South. Beck was noted for his enthusiasm in engaging students.

  Dr. Julie Maudlin, also an associate professor in Teaching and Learning, received the award for service. Maudlin's research interests include early childhood education, cultural curriculum studies, creativity, and consumption and public pedagogy. Her service work includes, among other things, the creation of the only elementary school math tournament for Bulloch County students.

  The award for scholarship and creative activity went to Dr. Robert Lake, associate professor in Curriculum, Foundations and Reading, whose research centers on multicultural education, imaginative education and educational biography. Lake was noted for his work on international, national, regional and state conferences, grants he has worked on and the numerous journal articles, chapters, and books he has authored.

  "When I was dean we were just a school then, not a college," Dr. Miller said, "and there weren't any awards for education faculty. I wanted to make sure that members of the education faculty are recognized for their important work," he said. During his tenure at Georgia Southern, the school went from a college to a university, education went from a school to a college, and the education faculty grew from 37 to 104. Dr. Miller had not returned to Georgia Southern since 1995. "It's very nostalgic for me and I'm proud to be back and still a part of this community," he said.