By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 12-4-08
GREENSBORO, NC – Dr. William J. Gerace, who for the past 17 years has led an institute dedicated to improving mathematics and science instruction, has been named the first Helena Gabriel Houston Distinguished Professor for Science Education at UNCG.
In addition to serving as director of the Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Gerace has published extensively on nuclear physics, the field of his doctorate, and education issues, particularly teaching, learning and problem solving.
At UNCG, he will work with faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Education to improve science education from kindergarten through the undergraduate level.
“Professor Gerace has had a long and distinguished career in physics education research and we are delighted to welcome him as a member of the UNCG faculty,” said Dr. Timothy D. Johnston, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“I am confident that he and his research group will make major contributions to our plans to bolster research in science and mathematics education, in collaboration with the School of Education and local school districts. I am especially pleased that two of his longtime collaborators also will be joining UNCG.”
Dr. Ian Beatty and Dr. William Leonard, both of whom worked with Gerace at the Scientific Reasoning Research Institute, will be coming to UNCG as faculty members in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Beatty will join the department in January, Leonard in August.
This appointment builds on UNCG’s leadership in teacher education and promises to help address the nation’s critical need for better science education. Gerace will also provide leadership in the planning for an Institute for the Advancement of Learning in Mathematics and Science, which UNCG is pursuing in collaboration with several other colleges and universities in the Triad.
Gerace earned his bachelor’s in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1963 and his doctorate in physics from Princeton in 1967. His research interests include theoretical nuclear physics, problem solving, cognitive processes in math and science education, and professional development for teachers. In the course of his career, he has served as principal investigator or co-PI on research projects that have received about $8 million in grant support.
Gerace’s professorship was created by the generosity of C.D. Spangler Jr., president of the University of North Carolina system from 1986 to 1997. Spangler endowed the professorship in honor of his fourth grade teacher, Helena Gabriel Houston. A 1927 graduate of the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG), Houston died in 2002.
Spangler recalls lessons in her classroom at Dilworth Elementary in Charlotte, where he learned the location of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers on big pull-down maps and read his orange-covered geography book.
“I can remember where I sat in her classroom and so could she,” Spangler said. “She remembered the other students in the class, too. She did wonderful work in her classroom for 40 years. I had several strong teachers at Dilworth, but Miss Gabriel was particularly strong. She was the best.”
The C.D. Spangler Foundation has donated money to create distinguished professorships at each of the 16 institutions in the UNC system. The foundation has pledged to provide matching funds for as many as 80 more professorships.
