Beth McGrath appointed Director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education

HOBOKEN, N.J. - Stevens Institute of Technology's Dean of Engineering, Dr. George Korfiatis, has announced that Ms. Elisabeth (Beth) W. McGrath has been appointed Director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education (CIESE) at Stevens' Charles V. Schaefer School of Engineering.

"Beth's appointment as the new director reflects both a change in leadership as well as change in emphasis of the center known as CIESE," said Korfiatis.

McGrath joined Stevens in 1987 and served as the Director of Marketing and Communications before joining what was then known as the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education in 1993. (With McGrath's appointment as director, the center's name has changed - employing the word "Innovation" - while the acronym is unchanged.)

As Deputy Director of CIESE, McGrath managed staff and directed programs that impacted more than 10,000 pre-college educators across the United States. She also developed substantial funding from public and private sources and created programming for curriculum development and teacher-training initiatives, both for K-12 and undergraduate faculty.

McGrath has also written and spoken widely on topics related to educational technology and STEM education reform. She has done consulting and research projects for clients ranging from Bank Street College of Education, the Education Commission of the States, to the National Imagery and Mapping Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Women in Engineering Program and Advocates Network.

Last year, she worked with Korfiatis to initiate a partnership with the School of Engineering known as the Research and Innovation in Engineering Education (RIEE) initiative. RIEE is a major organizational development effort aimed at catalyzing innovation, best practice, and collaboration in the Stevens undergraduate engineering experience. Through this effort, engineering faculty are collaborating with each other and with CIESE on topics such as integrating research into undergraduate coursework; improving persistence of women and underrepresented groups in engineering; enlivening coursework with authentic, real-world problems; and incorporating the Stevens Technogenesis® experience more substantially into K-12 and undergraduate education.

Under the School of Engineering, CIESE will continue its pre-college programs aimed at strengthening teaching and learning in science, mathematics, and technology to increase the pool and capabilities of students who can pursue advanced technical education and careers. CIESE is also developing new programs and materials to increase awareness and understanding of engineering principles, processes, and careers, as well as Technogenesis® themes, among K-12 teachers and students.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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