Making Math Education a Priority

by Elena Acoba

Marana High School math teacher Bob Brummett likes the practical, real-world lessons he gets at The University of Arizona. He and other Tucson-area math teachers mentor college math students at the UA Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers (CRRMT). The veteran teachers also brush up on their own teaching skills.

“The center is so hands on,” Brummett says. “The folks are just chock-full of practical information. It’s one thing to know that an inquiry-based lesson is the way you want to teach. It’s altogether different to have a lesson to do it.”

The center provides student teachers with in-classroom teaching opportunities. Math majors head into local schools to tutor students, present lessons, and team-teach. Veteran teachers coach the students on lesson planning, classroom management, and teaching techniques. The center now has a listserv of hundreds of names and fields questions about jobs, private tutors, and math-education careers.

Steve Martinez has taught math and algebra for four years at Challenger Middle School in the Sunnyside Unified School District. He worked his way through the CRRMT programs and brings tutors into his class. “They’re a great lifeline for any math teacher,” Martinez says.

Training good math teachers is crucial for the future of education in the U.S., which does not rank high among world leaders in math. In fact, studies show that 15-year-old American students rank 24th in the world, out of 29 countries, in math skills. And teacher retention is in decline. Nationally, half of new teachers leave the profession within five years. For math teachers, the figure “could be higher because there are more job openings for people who are good in mathematics,” says Ann Modica, co-director of the center.

UA math Professor Fred Stevenson founded the center in 2001 with a $100,000 grant from Tucson attorney Ashby Lohse. The Lohse family and other donors support the center, which also receives funds from area school districts and a University-administered fund of earmarked state sales tax revenue.

Roy F. Graesser Endowed Chair in Mathematics

The new Roy F. Graesser Endowed Chair in Mathematics will help bring the UA math education program to a national stage. A $1 million commitment will establish the endowed chair in honor of the late professor emeritus and math department head. The Graesser Memorial Foundation will transfer an existing $250,000 endowment and combine it with other contributions to fund the chair.

“I think that the chair could be a real catalyst for moving our math education and method research group to the next level,” says William McCallum, math department head. An eminent math-education scholar would “put us onto the national stage and that would be useful for the department.”

The endowed chair also would “provide a solid foundation for the Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers,” says McCallum.

“We like to honor all of our donors, and this is one of the best ways we can immortalize Dr. Graesser and his many contributions to the university,” says Linda Lohse, who manages a dozen family foundations in Tucson.

Graesser joined the UA mathematics department in 1926 as an assistant professor. In 1938 he became department head, a post he held for 21 years during great growth in the department.

He authored books, many journal and magazine articles, and a radio program, The Invention of Zero, which aired in Tucson.

In 1959 he returned to teaching part-time until he retired in 1964. After Graesser’s death in 1972, attorney Ashby Lohse handled his estate and created the Graesser Foundation to support math department outreach. The foundation also funds UA scholarships and supported a math camp for Native American students, coordinated by UA math professor Fred Stevenson.

Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers

By the numbers

8 school districts work with the center
30 teachers used tutors in 2008-09
75 percent of college students trained by veteran teachers in the program still teach
120 people participated in six new workshops this year
126 teachers serve as mentors in local schools
400 people participated in the center’s latest Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day conference

For more information, call 520-621-6866, or visit crr.math.arizona.edu.

UA Professor Appointed as First 1885 Society Presidential Chair

by Lisa Lucas

University of Arizona Professor Hermann F. Fasel is seeing green. As the inaugural 1885 Society Presidential Chair, the professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering (AME) has money in his pocket for exploratory research in alternative energy and biomedical fluid mechanics.

The chair is the first initiative funded by the 1885 Society, a UA donor group whose members commit to providing annual, unrestricted cash gifts of $10,000 or more to meet the changing needs of the university.

“The generous gifts from members of the 1885 Society allow us to leverage our resources to reward faculty members during these challenging times,” says UA President Robert N. Shelton. “Dr. Fasel is precisely the type of faculty member who embodies The University of Arizona’s reputation as a world-class research institution.”

Shelton appointed Fasel to the rotating chair in April. Fasel will receive $40,000 annually for the extent of his appointment.

“I was totally surprised and I am deeply honored to be selected for this prestigious award,” Fasel says. “I see this as an investment in new ideas that I would like to pursue. I plan to apply my experience and knowledge in aeronautical engineering to research in solar-tower power plants, wind turbines, and cardiovascular medicine.”

Fasel heads the Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (CFDL) at AME. The lab uses the world’s fastest supercomputers to conduct scientific research for various agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, and industry.

Since 2002, he has secured dozens of research grants and has active grants totaling more than $6 million. Fasel leads a team of graduate and undergraduate students in research areas including laminar-turbulent transition, flow control, aerodynamics, and dynamically scaled flight-testing of aircraft. His efforts are helping to create airplanes that are safer, more fuel efficient, and have less impact on the environment.

“Hermann is an outstanding College of Engineering faculty member in all phases of the job — teaching, research, and service,” says Jeffrey Goldberg, interim dean of the College of Engineering. “He works on problems that are important to society and he has a great ability to show how things are interrelated. He has high standards for himself and his colleagues, which is why he is so well respected around the world.”

1885 Society: Giving Learning a Leading Edge

It is no surprise Tucson’s Marc and Patty Dash are champions of the newly created University of Arizona donor group, the 1885 Society. The Dashes, both individual members of the elite group, are avid supporters of education.

“Education is transformational; it transforms lives and societies,” Marc says.

The formation of the Society comes at a critical time for the UA, as the institution faces drastic state funding cuts.

“Our alumni and supporters are going to have to reach deep in their pockets to continue the level of excellence at the university,” Patty says. “We all have to support the UA at whatever level we can.”

Members of the 1885 Society commit to annual cash gifts of $10,000. The group is comprised of community leaders in philanthropy for higher education.

“These are people who care about the university in the present and its future,” Patty says. “They believe university campuses should be the most dynamic entities in America, because education is oftentimes the leading edge of change.”

Society funds are unrestricted and used at UA President Robert N. Shelton’s discretion. This flexibility allows funding to be used for the most critical needs of the university.

“If a gift is made to the university and earmarked, that’s wonderful,” Marc says. “But these unrestricted gifts may be used for things not anticipated by the donor. This makes them especially valuable.”

Marc and Patty are proud Wildcat parents of sons Jeff Dash ’03 and Eliot Dash ’09.

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