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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
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INNOVATIVE NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ESTABLISHED AT HBG. UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYMayor Stephen R. Reed and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology President and CEO Mel Schiavelli today announced that the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement has been established at the University. The Center is intended to inspire, support and disseminate campus-based science education reform strategies that strengthen learning and build civic responsibility among students. The Center’s programs teach basic science and mathematics through a focus on some of the most important and complex civic issues facing society today. Reed said the National Center, now located at Harrisburg University and with offices also in Washington D.C., operates the internationally-known Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities(SENCER), which is supported by a major grant from the National Science Foundation. The Mayor said nearly 200 colleges and universities in more than 40 states and 10 foreign nations are working on the project, with faculty teaching SENCER courses to strengthen student learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics(STEM) by providing them with real-life problems and issues to which the various disciplines can be applied. Issues range from health challenges like asthma, HIV, diabetes, emerging infectious diseases and tuberculosis, to matters involving transportation, energy and environment, as well as specific civic concerns, such as maximizing the accuracy of the census and methods of voting. The work of the other colleges and universities is collated and coordinated at Harrisburg University, an unusual fact given how new it is in relation to the other schools. “Our innovative, non-traditional approach to higher education helps induce this type of partnership and the Center’s presence,” Reed said. Reed lauded the aims of the Center: “What could be more valuable than focusing the attention of education on the very problems with which we contend every day in Harrisburg and around the nation? Having the new Center in Harrisburg is a major plus for the city and the new University. Lessons we learn will be useful both here and across the country through faculty development and other outreach efforts.” “This is an important initiative that addresses our nation’s continuing performance gap in science and mathematics skills and to encourage young people to be active participants in their democracy,” said Reed. “By encouraging young people to become active in contemporary issues, we can establish a linkage between these issues and the studies they are undertaking. This helps to nurture interest in the sciences and mathematics, which is much needed in our nation.” “Our economic progress and well-being are also involved. We need more graduates who can develop and thrive in the new science and technology related businesses our region needs,” said Reed. “The Center’s work dovetails well with the University’s planned establishment of a major technology business incubator where students, faculty and outside entrepreneurs can start-up new advanced technology businesses based on creating new products and services. Businesses in the incubator can draw upon students and faculty for research, development, work study, intern- ships and jobs.” “Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is very pleased and proud to have the National Science Foundation’s support for SENCER and to host this prestigious new Center,” said Schiavelli. “What we learn and develop here will be disseminated throughout the nation for teachers at all levels of education. In many respects, the establishment of the Center at Harrisburg University immediately raises the entire school’s national standing.” Reed said the Center’s area of focus includes health, the environment, globalization, education, learning assessment, and the development of best practices and ideals relating to democracy and citizenship. The Center will also serve as the publisher of a new online publication entitled Science Education and Civic Engagement: An International Journal. The Center’s activities are conducted through a network of faculty and administrators who participate in intensive workshops, a summer institute, and an Internet-supported virtual community. All of the activities are designed to create closer relationships and more linkages between students and faculty, leading to the creation of new knowledge. The Mayor said the Center’s executive director is David Burns, who is professor of general studies at Harrisburg University. Prior to his appointment here, Burns served as the senior policy director for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and for most of his career was an administrator at Rutgers University. Burns and Karen Kashmanian Oates, Harrisburg University’s vice president for academic and student affairs, originated SENCER and serve as its principal investigators. In addition to Oates and Burns, the Center’s staff includes three senior scholars, Dr. William Bennett, Richard P. Keeling, MD, and Dr. Eliza Reily. “There really isn’t anything like this in the world,” added Schiavelli. “What will be developed here may well become a part of our national science and mathematics curriculum in public schools and higher education facilities.” |
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