The 2011-12 Noyce Scholars (from l-r): Back row: Eduardo Rivas, Jessica Huls, Kara Ohlinger, Kimberly Tilton, Kathryn Burnett, Alena Kahn, Priya Patel;
Front row: Angelina Flores, Katharine Maligie, Bria Pagliaro, Henry Galdamez, Jessica Watts, Cailean Kilroy.
The Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara has named its 2011-12 Noyce Scholars, 13 students working on their teaching credentials in mathematics and science. The funding for the Noyce Scholars comes from a $900,000 grant awarded to the Gevirtz School in 2009 from the National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Division of Undergraduate Education. The funding, being made available as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will over a five-year period provide $10,000 fellowships for 75 teacher candidates pursuing their Masters Degree.
The 2011 Noyce Scholars are:
Kathryn Burnett – Mathematics
Angelina Flores – Mathematics
Henry Galdamez – Mathematics
Jessica Huls – Mathematics
Alena Kahn – Science
Cailean Kilroy – Science
Katharine Maligie – Science
Kara Ohlinger – Science
Bria Pagliaro – Science
Priya Patel – Mathematics
Eduardo Rivas – Science
Kimberly Tilton – Science
Jessica Watts – Science
The Noyce Scholars are one component of Cal Teach at Santa Barbara (CTSB), part of a statewide UC effort to reinvigorate science and mathematics teaching in order to prepare California students for the ever-more demanding 21st century workforce and marketplace. CTSB has three objectives: 1) to use the rapidly expanding undergraduate program at the Gevirtz School – which includes a new Minor in Science and Mathematics Education – to recruit students, particularly underrepresented ethnic minority students, into science and mathematics teaching; 2) to increase the overall number of science and mathematics credential candidates in UCSB’s Teacher Education Program; and 3) to build cohorts of students through shared activities so as to prepare and retain student-centered, reform-minded science and mathematics teachers. These objectives are all the more crucial given the increasing need for qualified science and mathematics teachers and the lack of support at the state level due to California’s budget crisis. The Noyce Scholarships are a direct way to address that teacher shortage.
“It is an honor and pleasure to work with these teacher candidates,” says Susan Johnson, coordinator of CTSB. “Their passion for developing the skills to get students to think richly about science and mathematics is infectious. I am certain they will make inspiring teachers and be pivotal mentors of the next generation of California’s students.”