UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler to Grow STEM Teaching Force

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February 29, 2016

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

The University of Texas at Tyler has been named a partner in the national network 100Kin10 to grow the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math teaching force, Dr. Michael Odell, vice president for research and technology transfer, announced.

Through this partnership, the UT Tyler Ingenuity Center – along with the School of Education – commits to advancing the goal of recruiting, preparing and retaining 100,000 science, technology, engineering and math teachers by 2021. 100Kin10 is a national network coordinating and accelerating those efforts.

"We are very honored to selected as a 100Kin10 partner. The Ingenuity Center at UT Tyler is engaged in preparing new STEM teachers through its UTeach Tyler program in collaboration with the School of Education and the STEM departments," Odell said. "We are also working to retrain middle school and high school teachers in the areas of engineering, biomedical sciences and computer science through Texas Project Lead the Way.

"Being a partner will create more opportunities to solve the STEM teacher shortage. We are also excited about our new Teacher Residency program in collaboration with the UT Tyler Innovation Academy that will provide preservice teachers experiences with innovative teaching methods," he added.

As part of 100Kin10, UT Tyler commits to prepare 200 new STEM teachers and retrain 1,500 current teachers in STEM related disciplines.

More and better-trained STEM teachers are essential to preparing America's students to fully participate in our democracy and to understand and respond to complex national and global challenges. To compete in the global marketplace and provide opportunity to all young Americans, all students—not just those fortunate enough to attend certain schools—must have basic STEM skills and knowledge. The UT Tyler Ingenuity Center is one of 49 new partners join a network of now over 280 of the country's top businesses, nonprofits, foundations and academic institutions to help achieve the goal of 100,000 excellent STEM teachers.

"It is critical there be cross sector collaboration to prepare today's students to be the leaders of tomorrow," said 100Kin10 executive director Talia Milgrom-Elcott. "We are excited for the many ways that the UT Tyler Ingenuity Center will contribute to our shared mission of getting more and better STEM teachers into American classrooms."

100Kin10 partners have access to exclusive research, learning, innovation, and funding opportunities, all designed to foster collaborative problem-solving and support partners in fulfilling their ambitious commitments towards 100Kin10's shared goal.

Organizations are accepted as 100Kin10 partners following a rigorous vetting process conducted by a team of partner reviewers and a national selection panel of experts in education and STEM. Applicants are considered for partnership based on their organization strength and STEM and teaching expertise; clear, meaningful commitments toward the 100,000 STEM teacher goal; and interest in and capacity to build the 100Kin10 movement.

About 100Kin10
100Kin10 is an organization committed to recruiting, training and retaining 100,000 excellent science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers by 2021. 100Kin10 encourages multi-sector collaboration and provides the vision and resources to help nonprofits, foundations, academic institutions and businesses meet their ambitious commitments to educate the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. More information is available at 100kin10.org. A complete list of partners—with new partners highlighted—is also available on the 100Kin10 website.

For additional information, contact Odell, 903.566.7132 or modell@uttyler.edu.

One of the 14 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,500 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.