New Georgia Tech/Georgia State Collaboration Designed to Support Certified STEM Teachers

A new collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University (GSU) streamlines the process for increasing the number of highly-quality certified math and science teachers.

Approved by the Board of Regents on Aug. 10, the Georgia Tech-GSU Bachelor of Science/Master of Arts in Teaching (BS/MAT) Option is unique because it allows students to apply credits to degrees earned at both institutions while also completing a state-approved teacher certification program. The program will begin this fall.

“This collaboration is consistent with the Regents’ commitment to supporting a high-quality teaching workforce, especially in high need areas. We know that teachers prepared at USG institutions are retained in Georgia classrooms at high levels, making this partnership beneficial for the new teachers, the schools and education across the state,” said Lynne Weisenbach, the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for Educator Preparation, Innovation and Research.

The Georgia Tech-GSU initiative focuses on the strengths of both institutions, according to Donna Llewellyn, director of Georgia Tech’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. She points out, “Georgia Tech is known for its incredible STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students, and Georgia State is known for its excellent programs for preparing teachers for our state’s and nation’s schools – it just makes good sense to pair up and utilize each of these strengths.”

The initiative supports preparing certified teachers for STEM programs in grades four through eight and six through twelve. Llewellyn adds, “This partnership not only helps develop top-notch teachers who can help educate the Georgia workforce, but it also assures that we have a home-grown pipeline of teachers who can fully prepare students to pursue higher education degrees – this is a win-win!”

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New fellowship program draws STEM majors to teaching in public schools

Ten recent graduates or professionals in mathematics and science have returned to classes at the University of Georgia this fall to become future math and science teachers in Georgia’s public schools, thanks to a new scholarship program in the UGA College of Education, funded by nearly $1 million in federal grants.

The Noyce Fellows program provides scholarships and stipends for science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors and professionals to attain a teaching certificate or a graduate education degree in exchange for a two-year commitment to teach in a high-needs public school in Georgia.

The program, based in the college’s department of mathematics and science education, was originally funded by a four-year, $750,000 National Science Foundation grant which will support three cohorts of 10 fellows each to complete teacher certification and a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree.

Now, the NSF has awarded the department an additional $150,000 to support four more scholars per cohort, thanks to funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Those four fellows will be added in January to the original 10 who began the program this fall. A second cohort will start in summer or fall 2010 and a third will begin in summer or fall 2011.

“The program is helping us attract highly qualified individuals to teacher careers in science and mathematics to overcome the teaching shortage in these critical fields,” said Denise Mewborn, principal investigator and head of the department of mathematics and science education. “Many of these individuals are giving up lucrative jobs to change careers, so the support the fellowship provides is essential.”

The fellows, who range from recent college graduates to those with years in the workplace, have found themselves drawn to the world of teaching.

Courtney Boehlke, a fellow in this year’s cohort, worked for nine years as a research technician and coordinator for a large lab in UGA’s cell biology department.

“I recently took a good look at what I felt was the most rewarding part of my job,” said Boehlke, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from UGA. “I enjoyed my role as a teacher most. I find my greatest fulfillment in sharing my knowledge with others and seeing their faces when they understand a difficult concept. It is my hope that my career change will allow me to move out of the lab and to pass on my passion for science and learning to future generations of scientists.”

After tutoring college students in mathematics for five years, Priscilla Alexander, a recent graduate of Paine College in Augusta, changed her career plans because she recognized a need for more qualified math teachers in high school classrooms.

“I earned my undergraduate degree in mathematics and planned to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics, but I decided that mathematics education would be more conducive to my career goals,” said Alexander. “Most of all, I want to make a change when it comes to educating future mathematicians.”

Jamie York began to question her career goals after three years as an engineer. She took a strategic approach by researching potential careers and talking with more than 30 people in the teaching field.

“My desire is for a career that has a lasting impact, not simply a bottom line,” said York, who has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech. “I also have a growing desire to work with youth, specifically those at risk. Having spent time volunteering with tutoring programs, at-risk youth mentoring programs, and high school discipleship groups, this desire has only continued to grow over the years. Finding a career path that integrated both my passion and my skill set was exactly what I was looking for.”

The fellowship provides financial support, including tuition, fees and a stipend of $4,000 to cover living expenses and books, for gaining certification to teach secondary mathematics or science as well as a graduate degree in those fields.The fellows will proceed through a carefully structured four-semester (summer-fall-spring-summer) program designed to help them develop subject matter knowledge for teaching and implement that knowledge in diverse school settings.

The Robert Noyce Scholarship program has funded four similar fellowship programs in Georgia at Clark Atlanta, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and Kennesaw State universities.There are about 250 of these programs across the nation, ranging from $60,000 to $1.8 million.

For more information on the Noyce Fellowship Program at UGA, see www.coe.uga.edu/mse/nsf_info.html.

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UGA’s Terry College of Business to offer continuing education courses in Project Management Certification with instructional partner Advanced Strategi

The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business will offer a strategic Project Management Certificate in Leadership, Planning and Execution at the Terry Executive Education Center in Atlanta, beginning in October.

The nine-day, three-course executive program offers managers the opportunity to learn how to consistently initiate, plan and execute major projects with the potential to transform how their companies do business.

Terry’s Office of Executive Programs is teaming with Advanced Strategies Inc. to teach managers how to achieve better results in areas such as day-to-day leadership, business accountability, dynamic planning, strategic alignment, critical thinking and focused execution.

“We are delighted to be working with a top organization like Advanced Strategies,” said Charlie Squires, director of executive programs at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. “Our institution is seeing increased demand for project management courses, as individuals face strong competition for fewer available jobs, and companies struggle to do more with less and still make a profit. Through this partnership we are able to combine the best of both worlds – the latest in theory and best practices – to deliver real-world value.”

The three courses are:
· Project Management: Initiation and Launch, which covers defining expected outcomes, aligning with strategic goals and dealing with people and politics;
· Project Management: Planning, which covers process visualization, effective scheduling and commitment of resources;
· Project Management: Execution, which covers project oversight, managing risk and leading vs. managing.

Courses will be offered Oct. 6-8, Nov. 3-5 and Dec. 8-10. The Initiation and Launch course and the Planning course can also be taken independently.

With offices in Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn., Advanced Strategies is a PMI Endorsed Global Education Provider and ensures that each course aligns with PMI knowledge areas. Participants must earn 63 contact hours and 6.3 Continuing Education Units to earn Project Management Certification.

The faculty who will be teaching in the program have considerable experience leading projects for Fortune 500 companies and large government agencies. Edward L. Wynn, who is a certified Project Management Professional, has been with Advanced Strategies for 15 years and has managed many successful IT projects. Karen Windham, who joined Advance Strategies in 1990, has 25 years of information management and project management experience.

The cost for the program is $1,995 per course or $5,500 if purchasing all three courses in advance. Any organization registering two or more participants receives a 10 percent discount.

For complete course descriptions or to register, go to the Executive Program’s Project Management Web site. All classes will be held at the Terry Executive Education Center in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, located in the One Live Oak Building, 3475 Lenox Road. For more information, call toll-free 1-866-238-0756 or executive_programs@terry.uga.edu.

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UGA’s Organic Program Graduates First Students

Kate Smith has had lots of dirt under her fingernails as a horticulture graduate from the University of Georgia. And some of that soil has been certified organic.

She and Kelly Broderick stepped across UGA’s graduation stage in December as the first students to complete UGA’s new certificate program in organic agriculture.

“It’s made me realize that having my hands in the dirt is something I need in life,” Smith said of the program. “It was an incredibly rewarding experience.”

Smith graduated with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture in December. She’s moving to Washington, D.C. this month to hunt for a job in agriculture policy.

Broderick, an ecology graduate, plans to get a master’s degree that focuses on sustainable agriculture. But right now she’d really “love to get a job on a farm working,” she said. Broderick eventually wants to go into education and develop a science curriculum based around agriculture.

Organic at UGA

Organic agriculture is farming with minimal chemical inputs. It emphasizes management practices that restore, maintain or enhance farmland. And before UGA’s program started a year and a half ago, the scientific study of organic agriculture was something missing from Georgia’s college curriculum. The program has grown to include 20 students, approved classes and an organic farm and greenhouses.

Smith said the program helped her “see through the romanticism of agriculture.” And that’s one of UGA horticulture professor Marc van Iersel’s goals in teaching organic agriculture.

“There are a lot of myths surrounding organic agriculture. I hope this program gives them a more science-based approach,” said van Iersel, who is based in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

One of his students is already testing his organic agriculture knowledge. Economics major James Hamilton is starting a two-acre organic farm in Cleveland, Ga. This year, he’ll set up a small CSA – community supported agriculture – and provide produce to paying subscribers.

“Hopefully what I’ll grow will be a lot of heirloom” plants, he said. “They taste better, and they’re more interesting to grow. I’m not so concerned with yields. I’m just seeing what will grow.”

UGA’s certificate program in organic agriculture has four required courses and six hours of electives. The certificate is similar to a minor for undergraduates, with faculty from various departments and colleges teaching in the program.

Van Iersel would like to see 25 to 30 students enroll in the program each year or a total of 50 students in the program. “If we consistently attract that many students, it would be time to start thinking about an organic major,” he said. He’d like to see the program springboard into both a minor and a major in organic agriculture.

Using the program

UGA students in the organic certificate program apply their knowledge in a variety of ways. “This program could benefit anybody who has an interest in growing of any kind,” said Dain Goedeke, a UGA landscape architecture major. He plans to apply the soils knowledge he gained in his future design projects. “I don’t think a lot of landscape architects do that.”

Horticulture major Jacob Adams’ master plan is to have “a micro farm with my family and an integrated restaurant and grocery store.”

But not all of van Iersel’s students are pursing careers in organic agriculture.

French graduate Rick Power took a job with a charitable organization. He took several organic classes but didn’t formally complete the certificate program. Now living in Massachusetts, Power works for Heifer International, a non-profit organization that’s goal is to help end world hunger and poverty through self-reliance and sustainability.

For more information on UGA’s organic certificate program, visit www.uga.edu/organic.

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia

Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.


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UGA's Terry College of Business Partners with Advanced Strategies Inc. to Offer Certificate Programs in Business Analysis

The University of Georgia's Terry College of Business is now offering certificate programs in business analysis, one of several new executive programs being launched in 2009, at the Terry Executive Education Center in Atlanta.

The certificate courses go beyond definitions and theory to teach the practical methods and skill development needed to carry out successful projects, starting with everyday projects and building up to complex, enterprise-wide initiatives and business transformations.

Terry's Office of Executive Programs has partnered with Advanced Strategies Inc. to teach the comprehensive Business Analysis Certificate Programs. Classes are continuous through 2010 and range from one- to three-week courses.

Courses in the certificate series include Business Analysis for Everyday Projects; Business Process Analysis and Facilitation for Major, Complex Projects; Business Analysis Leadership; Enterprise Transformation Analysis; and an Executive Forum on Identifying and Executing Enterprise Transformation Initiatives.

The programs are comprehensive not only in the topics covered, but also in providing a structured and well-defined career path. From being an analyst working on everyday projects to a "master business analyst" working on the most complex enterprise transformation initiatives, training and work experience at each level provide a solid basis for advancement to the next level of complexity and responsibility.

Business analysis instructors are experienced Advanced Strategies facilitators and trainers. As business analysis faculty, they lead the development of methodologies and training for business and technology transformation.

A senior manager with the Supreme Court in the state of Minnesota, who was a participant of the program, said, "The positive energy and excitement this training generated can't be bought and was, in large part, due to the facilitators and how the classes were taught."

Terry College and Advanced Strategies are also offering an executive forum where senior executives will meet for three days to address the critical issues facing enterprises in business transformation initiatives. The forum provides a unique, interactive opportunity to address challenges, such as maximizing delivery of business results, minimizing time to value, and affecting organizational change. The forum will be held March 3-5, and the registration fee is $3,750.

To register, go to www.terry.uga.edu/exec_ed/businessanalysis/. A 10 percent discount is offered to any company sending two or more participants. All classes, including the executive forum, will be held at the Terry Executive Education Center in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, located in the One Live Oak Building, 3475 Lenox Road. For more information, call 404/842-4853 or email executive_programs@terry.uga.edu.

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