Balfour Foundation Grant to Support Joint UMaine/ Jackson Laboratory “Mastering Science” Program;
Contact: Media contacts: Joe Carr, University of Maine, 581-3571; Joyce Peterson, The Jackson Laboratory, 288-6058
WHEN: Thursday, October 23, 2003, 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Buchanan Alumni House, University of Maine, Orono
WHO:
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Robert A. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Maine
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Susan R. McKay, Ph.D., Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education Research, University of Maine
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Jon Geiger, Ph.D., Educational Programs Manager, The Jackson Laboratory
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Claude O’Donnell, Senior Client Advisor, Private Clients Group, Fleet
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Kerry Herlihy Sullivan, Director, Foundation and Philanthropic Services, Fleet
ORONO — Starting in the Spring 2004 semester, an innovative Maine program called “Mastering Science” will pair University of Maine science teachers-in-training with Jackson Laboratory scientists in a content-rich, research-based graduate level training program. This UMaine-Jackson Lab collaboration will also include a statewide mentoring network for teachers throughout Maine and eventually New England.
Fleet National Bank, trustee of the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation is announcing a $230,000 grant for Mastering Science. According to Kerry Herlihy Sullivan, director of Foundation and Philanthropic Services at Fleet, where the Balfour Foundation is based, “We are supporting this program to help increase the number of qualified science teachers and thus improve the quality and availability of science education in New England, for years to come.”
The Mastering Science concept was launched in May with a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Jon Geiger, Ph.D., educational programs manager at The Jackson Laboratory, explains, “The teacher candidates will gain hands-on experience in working with high school students in a world-class laboratory setting; the students will benefit from additional guidance and mentorship.”
Susan McKay, a professor in the University of Maine Department of Physics and Astronomy and Director of UMaine’s Center for Science and Mathematics Education Research, will direct the MST portion of the funded program. She says, “Participation in cutting edge research provides a valuable perspective and deeper understanding of science and mathematics for these future teachers. These teachers will be able to share their enthusiasm for research with their students, raising students’ aspirations. We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity at the Jackson Laboratory, coordinated with course work emphasizing research-based strategies for teaching science and mathematics.”
The internship program will begin in the fall 2003 semester for the Jackson Laboratory high school interns and spring 2004 for the University of Maine student teachers.