Recent PIMMS Newsletters
Fall 2006
Spring 2006
Fall 2005
Archives

The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) has awarded Dr. Robert A. Rosenbaum, PIMMS’s founder and chair, its Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his exemplary career, with its many contributions to math and science education.

The award was presented on May 8 at the organization’s annual awards banquet in Groton.

“Extending a well-known aphorism of Henry Adams,” said Dr. Rosenbaum, “I remark that educators affect eternity; they can never tell where their influence stops.”

Dr. Ted Sergi, President and CEO of the Connecticut Science Center, former Commissioner of the State Department of Education and a previous CAPSS Distinguished Service Award recipient, has characterized Dr. Rosenbaum by saying: “No person in the State of Connecticut – over the past thirty years – has done more for the improvement of math and science instruction than Robert A. Rosenbaum.  [He] has directly and indirectly touched the lives of thousand of K-12 teachers in Connecticut.”

Michael A. Zebarth, director of PIMMS, noted Dr. Rosenbaum’s “defining legacy of empowering others.”

“Bob Rosenbaum continues to be an accomplished pioneer in the arena of innovative educational improvement, an extraordinary educator, a warm and compassionate gentleman, and a visionary leader,” he said.

Dr. Rosenbaum, 92, a graduate of Yale University’s class of ’36, was a faculty member of several universities until 1953, when he joined the mathematics department at Wesleyan University. Over the course of his 55-year Wesleyan career, he has held many administrative positions, including dean, provost, academic vice-president, acting president and chancellor.  In 1985, he was named the University Professor of Mathematics and Sciences, emeritus.

Dr. Rosenbaum was instrumental in establishing one of the nation’s first “mathematics clinics” for mathematics-phobic students. He collaborated with and mentored former Wesleyan author and educator Sheila Tobias in her early research on female avoidance of mathematics and science from which she went on to develop her national reputation in this field.

Dr. Rosenbaum is the author or co-author of four mathematics texts and the recipient of several honorary degrees.

He has directed a host of highly acclaimed National Science Foundation-supported institutes for teachers and students, addressing some of the most important issues in mathematics and science education – students who avoid mathematics and/or science, urban students with limited access to mathematics and science-rich opportunities, and capable teachers with inadequate preparation in mathematics and science. In each case, targeted, collegial action, blending Wesleyan’s resources with outside funding and personnel has met those needs head-on.

In the early 1980s, Dr. Rosenbaum formed an alliance with several corporations, including General Electric, Northeast Utilities, Pfizer, United Technologies Corporation, and others to create the Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics (PIMM). In 1983, the project expanded to include science, and a group of 40 secondary teachers attended the first summer of the first two-year PIMMS residential Fellowship program.

Dr. Rosenbaum served as PIMMS’s Director until 1995, and as its Chairman since 1995.

The program has worked to meet the needs of Connecticut’s large urban districts, the poorest and most educationally depressed.

The hallmark of the PIMMS Fellowship program is the cadre of leaders that has developed and the extent of the Fellows’ outreach activities. In addition to being outstanding teachers and mathematics and science change agents, many have become department chairs, district coordinators, school administrators, and state level supervisors. Over 70 percent of the Connecticut awardees for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are PIMMS Fellows.

The influence of PIMMS has gone well beyond Connecticut’s borders. Pratt and Whitney sought Dr. Rosenbaum’s assistance in replicating PIMMS in the Palm Beach County Schools in Florida. General Electric received similar help from PIMMS to develop a program with Oberlin College, and in Schenectady, NY, with Union College.

Perhaps the capstone of the Rosenbaum legacy is the Connecticut Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology – the operating arm of Connecticut’s State Systemic Initiative (SSI), Project CONNSTRUCT, for the reform of mathematics and science education. The National Science Foundation required that SSI proposals be submitted through the governor’s office. Recognizing the potential for competition among many organizations for direction of the five-year project, Dr. Rosenbaum convened a meeting of key players to formulate the Connecticut plan. He promoted the creation of the Academy as an independent entity with a Board of Directors representing the various constituencies, including the lieutenant governor.

It is estimated that Dr. Rosenbaum has volunteered 50,000 hours of his time to these and other math-related pursuits. He has served as a mentor to gifted middle and high school students and serves on various state and local committees concerned with both educational and social issues.

Among Dr. Rosenbaum’s other interests is squash. He has been the National Age Group Champion four times. He is such an accomplished and dedicated player that in 2005 Wesleyan named its squash courts for him.

Dr. Rosenbaum lives with his wife Marjorie in Middletown; he also owns a home in Colorado, near his three sons and their families.

Previous recipients of the CAPSS Distinguished Service Award, which is given only to non-members of CAPSS, include civil rights attorney Martha Stone, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Children’s Advocacy and one of the lead attorneys in the Sheff v. O’Neill educational equity case; Lawrence D. McHugh, Chairman of the Connecticut State University System’s Board of Trustees and President of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce; and Dr. David G. Carter Sr., Chancellor of the Connecticut State University System.

PIMMS names new Assistant Director for Programs, Grants, and Marketing.

Wesleyan University's PIMMS has named Maria Johnson as its new Assistant Director for Grants, Programs and Marketing. In her new role, Maria will be responsible for researching and securing grants, administering grants and programs such as the PIMMS CEU program, and working to promote PIMMS programs. Maria comes to PIMMS with a wealth of experience in both education and the media. Maria is currently completing her tenure teaching creative writing at the University of Hartford. Maria was a reporter for the Providence Journal for a number of years.

PIMMS expresses its appreciation to its dedicated consultants who devote so much of their time to helping to improve the mathematics and science instruction in Connecticut schools. The following PIMMS consultants have spent significant time during the 2007-2008 school year working with teachers in the districts after their names:

Dan  Dolan                 New Haven, Thompson,

                                   Ridgefield

Eloise Farmer             Stamford, New Haven,

                                   Hartford, Bridgeport

Don Hastings               Bridgeport

Sandra  Justin             Enfield, Hartford

Mari  Muri                    East Lyme, RSD #2,

                                    Stamford, Windham

Marilyn Odell               Hartford

Robert Segall               Hartford

Ken  Sherrick               Hartford, Thompson

Delores Vecchiarelli     Seymour, Stamford

Congratulations Staples High School Team #65 and all those that participated in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge 2008!

Last month, 21 teams of high school juniors and seniors from Connecticut competed in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge 2008, submitting solution papers that attempted to solve the major global problem of U.S. energy independence, and specifically the replacement of gasoline with ethanol. The participation increased dramatically over 2007 where only 8 teams entered.  Congratulations to Team #65 from Staples High School from Westport Connecticut for their Honorable Mention team prizes in the amount of $1,000.  For more information visit http://m3challenge.siam.org/.