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Minorities Entering Math, Technology Fields To Increase
Lincoln University, PA – Lincoln University will open its NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) MASTAP (Mathematics and Science Teacher Partnership Program) Continuing Education Teaching Resource Center (CETRC) at Lincoln University’s Center for Graduate and Continuing Education on December 12. The event will begin at 5 p.m. on the first floor of LincolnUniversity’Center for Graduate and Continuing Education, 3020 Market Street in Philadelphia.
Dr. Richard O’Daniel, director,Lincoln University Center for Graduate and Continuing Education,and Lincoln NASA MASTAP Principal Investigator; Dr. Grant D. Venerable, Vice President, Academic Affairs; and other University faculty members will take part in special inaugural ceremonies. Dillard Menchan, chief of Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will be the event’s keynote speaker. Menchan will address the purpose, scope and future of NASA MASTAP programs. The CETRC is part of a three-year grant Lincoln received from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to train teachers to utilize NASA’s educational materials and research in their K-12 classrooms.
The goal of the Lincoln NASA MASTAP is to address the critical shortage of under-represented minority students entering the fields of mathematics, science, engineering and technology. The Lincoln NASA MASTAP is currently seeking students to enroll in its Master of Education (M.Ed.) biology and mathematics programs, which offer $6,000 per year in tuition reimbursements for qualified students wishing to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics in grades K-12. Ultimately, establishment of Lincoln’s CETRC will train Philadelphia-area school teachers to use NASA educational program resources for the continuous improvement of mathematics, science, engineering and technology instruction in K-12 schools. In addition, the CETRC will provide a regional continuing education program that will improve course literacy of science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers in the Philadelphia region by integrating NASA educational materials with state and national standards courses taught in K-12 classrooms.
“There’s no greater educational or national security issue facing America than to increase the number of under-represented minorities prepared to enter the fields of math, science and the related technologies,” said Dr. O’Daniel.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, named for rocket research pioneer Dr. Robert H. Goddard, was established in 1959. Since that time, the Goddard Space Flight Center has played a major role in space and earth science. The Goddard team is made up of some of the world’s premier scientist and engineers devoted to research in science, space science, technology and space communications. NASA’s mission is to understand and protect the planet, to explore the universe and search for life as well as inspire the next generation of explorers as only NASA can.
Founded in 1854, Lincoln University is a premier, Historically Black University that combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet the needs of students living in a highly technological and global society. The University is nationally recognized as a major producer of African Americans with undergraduate degrees in the physical sciences (biology, chemistry and physics); computer and information sciences; and biological and life sciences. In addition, Lincoln is ranked first in Pennsylvania in the same categories.
From April 2003 through May 2004, the University will celebrate its sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, with an array of campus and external events, activities and announcements. For more information about Lincoln University, please visit us on the Web at www.lincoln.edu.