The 2012-13 Noyce Scholars (from l-r): Front row: Michelle Leber, Samantha Sanders, Robert Buchan, Justine Ophanon
Middle row: Ngoc Hoang, Adriane Aleto, Rebecca Buell
Back row: Cody Foster, Natalie Hay, Christine Gustafson, Katelyn Standerfer, Laurel Phelps, Marc Chan, Taylor Hurt, Logan McMurtrey-Banks, Harrison Abry
The Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara has named its 2012-13 Noyce Scholars, 16 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 2012 Noyce Scholars are:
Harrison Abry – Science
Adriane Aleto - Science
Robert Buchan – Mathematics
Rebecca Buell – Science
Marc Chan – Science
Cody Foster – Science
Christine Gustafson – Science
Natalie Hay – Science
Ngoc Hoang – Science
Taylor Hurt – Science
Michelle Leber – Science
Logan McMurtrey-Banks – MST science emphasis
Justine Ophanon – Science
Laurel Phelps – MST science emphasis
Samantha Sanders – Mathematics
Katelyn Standerfer – Science
The Noyce Scholars are one component of CalTeach 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.”