The Carnegie Corp. of New York officially named the MSU College of Education as one of four nationally leading schools offered a $5 million grant Wednesday.
Corporation officials said the Teachers for a New Era board has selected MSU as a grant recipient - and negotiations between MSU and Carnegie will decide the fate of the money.
As part of the agreement, MSU must match the corporation’s five-year, $5 million grant with an additional $5 million and provide a detailed plan for the money.
Provost Lou Anna Simon said some grant money could be put toward a program aimed at increasing the interaction between College of Education graduates and current students so they are better prepared for the challenges of their first jobs.
“This grant will permit us to have a bigger impact much sooner than we might have on our own,” Simon said.
Susan King, Carnegie vice president of public affairs, said representatives recently visited campus to evaluate the program and negotiate grant particulars. King said she has every expectation MSU will meet the requirements to receive the grant.
“A group of very high-level education teachers did research on the best education schools around the country and picked MSU as one of four schools,” King said.
The grant is part Carnegie’s efforts to increase respect for the field of education and create more professional teachers.
Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, promoted the grant in a Wednesday press conference. She said the focus on teaching is critical.
“It’s one of the most complex jobs in the world, but it’s the least respected,” she said.
Lagemann said she hopes the program will help better prepare teachers for classroom obstacles by increasing hands-on training and establishing long-term relationships between new teachers and universities.
Carnegie representative Daniel Fallon said traditional teacher education programs have been widely criticized. He said Carnegie officials want to focus on the nation’s high-quality education programs, helping them restructure and improve.
“The single most important factor affecting student achievement is the quality of the teacher,” Fallon said. “The focus will be on measured achievement gains made by pupils and the practices made by teachers.”
MSU President M. Peter McPherson said he is pleased with the grant.
“It reflects the strength of the College of Education, which is regularly ranked one or two in the nation in both undergraduate and graduate levels,” McPherson said.
MSU Education instructor Delores Schnarr said she agrees with the high praises granted to MSU’s education program.
Schnarr, who also teaches advanced placement English at Haslett High School, received her master’s degree from MSU in 1995.
“I’m proud to be part of such a highly esteemed institute,” Schnarr said. “It’s very intense - it looks into every facet and lens involved in teaching and reaching all students.”
Brian Charlton can be reached at charlt10@msu.edu
Elissa Englund can be reached at englunde@msu.edu
