A project designed to help children learn math will soon help MSU’s students learn to teach math with the creation of the Lappan-Phillips-Fitzgerald Endowed Chair.
MSU officials announced Tuesday the endowment, which comes from the Connected Mathematics Project. The program is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Peter Bates, chairman of the Department of Mathematics, said the department will use money from the endowment to pay the salary and other expenses of a distinguished professor. The international hiring search will begin immediately.
“Somehow, a sizable chunk of money was raised and set aside, and the interest on that pays the salary and other expenses of a distinguished professor,” he said.
The chair is named for Glenda Lappan, university distinguished professor of mathematics, Elizabeth Phillips, senior specialist in mathematics and William Fitzgerald, who was a professor of mathematics. All three were founders of the project, which has been credited with improving the curriculum of middle school mathematics nationwide.
“It will bring a lot of recognition to the department, and the reputation of the department will be increased,” Bates said. “More notice will be paid to the products from this department, namely, students who graduate.”
Benefits will come from the new endowed chair including better teaching, internship opportunities and research, Bates said.
Marie Miarka, an education sophomore, said having a distinguished professor teaching mathematics education would help her achieve her goal of being an elementary school teacher.
Miarka said she is pleased with the job the mathematics education program already is doing, but the endowment would help the program even more.
“It would be really interesting to have someone that’s highly recognized,” she said. “And not have just a teaching assistant.”
Joan Ferrini-Mundy, associate dean of science and mathematics education, said the professors in the math program have written, tested, researched and designed curriculum materials.
“The team that leads the project has created an endowed chair for a new position, allowing us to hire a national expert and leader to be a professor here in mathematical education,” she said. “It’s very exciting to the math department and the college - we can continue to build and call attention to our strong program with this new chair.”
Ferrini-Mundy said the number of increased faculty from the endowment will help MSU.
“There will be more faculty capacity to work with students who are intending to be teachers,” she said. “Presumably, when we find someone in this area, they will be able to work with students of all levels. We have a focus of improving the teaching of mathematics at all levels, and we are very excited to bring this person here.”
