Episode 7: Removing Barriers in STEM Teacher Education through Noyce Scholarship Program with Dr. André Green and Dr. Susan Ferguson

The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, funded by the National Science Foundation in the College of Education and Professional Studies, responds to the critical need for K-12 teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, by encouraging talented students and professionals to pursue science and mathematics teaching careers in high need schools. Dr. André Green, associate vice president for academic affairs and professor of science education at the University of South Alabama, was awarded the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant, Pathway to Science, in 2009, Pathway to Mathematics in 2011, and Pathway to Science II in 2016 in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences through their mathematics and science departments. Dr. Susan Ferguson, associate professor and program coordinator of secondary education at the University of South Alabama, served as co-principal investigator and project director of the scholarship program and ensured that the overall goals were achieved. Ferguson advised and mentored each Noyce Scholar and has maintained close relationships with each. Over the past decade, approximately 71 scholars have graduated from the Pathway to Science and Pathway to Mathematics programs and more than 90% of the graduates are still teaching science and mathematics in the local and surrounding communities. Green and his co-investigators brought in approximately $3.5 million in NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grants and an additional $4.5 million in Noyce Conference grants to the University of South Alabama.