President Susan A. Cole is joined by John McGoldrick, executive vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Mordechai Rozanski, president of Rider University, at the announcement of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning.
University to open Bristol-Myers Squibb Center
Praising public/private partnerships to promote better science
and mathematics training as "a model for twenty-first century growth,"
Montclair State University announced plans last week to open a Bristol-Myers
Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning. The center, which is
the second of its kind in New Jersey, aims to improve the way teachers
prepare their students in mathematics and science education.
President Susan A. Cole said the new facility will house the University's
Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) program. Designed
as an incubator for excellence in northern New Jersey, the Montclair center
is made possible through a five-year capital grant in the amount of $500,000
from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
"A rudimentary knowledge of mathematical procedures and scientific
facts will no longer suffice," said Cole. "All of our young
people should have a reasonable chance to develop an advanced understanding
of mathematics, science, complex problem-solving skills and technological
expertise. PRISM, operating within the new Bristol-Myers Squibb Center,
will teach best practices to the professionals in mathematics and science
who teach our children. PRISM and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for
Science Teaching and Learning will bring a strong collaboration of Montclair
State University scientists and education professors to bear on the design
and delivery of this inquiry-centered program initiative."
John L. McGoldrick, executive vice president, Bristol-Myers Squibb, joined
Cole for the grant announcement at the Department of Education offices
in Trenton. He stated that the pharmaceutical industry has a great interest
in ensuring the success of mathematics and science teachers and students.
"Bristol-Myers Squibb has a long-standing commitment to improving
science and math teaching and learning. The pharmaceutical industry employs
tens of thousands of people in New Jersey and elsewhere around the region,
and we rely on qualified and highly skilled scientists," said McGoldrick.
"Our partnership with academia and government strives to give our
teachers and their students the finest resources in order to enhance our
talent pool and ensure that we continue to have the best scientists in
the world." He noted that the Center for Science Teaching and Learning
at Montclair State, as well as a similar center at Rider University in
Lawrenceville also established with a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb,
are logical extensions of a $6 million commitment from the company, started
in 1993 to help raise the quality of science education across the nation.
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reported
in 1996 and 1999 (TIMSS-Repeat) that U.S. eighth- and twelfth-grade students
scored lower in math and science than their counterparts in other industrialized
nations. The studies also reported that higher levels of achievement were
demonstrated when teachers placed emphasis on experiments, practical investigations
and problem-solving -- all key components of an inquiry-based teaching
method. Recently, the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress
showed that average mathematics scores demonstrated continued improvement
since 1990 at both grades 4 and 8. However, there is more work to be done.
Cole and McGoldrick were joined at the announcement by higher education
officials who also emphasized the need to improve learning at the K-12
levels by giving current and future teachers of science and mathematics
the skills to use inquiry-based teaching in their classrooms.
Rider University has its Science Education and Literacy Center (SELECT)
program in place at its Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching
and Learning. SELECT and PRISM are both professional development programs
for teachers that are recognized and used by public and independent schoolteachers
of science throughout the state. They also facilitate active learning
for undergraduates preparing to teach science and mathematics.
"We are tremendously pleased with the commitment of Bristol-Myers
Squibb," Rider University President Mordechai Rozanski said. "The
successful partnerships and programs supported by SELECT and Bristol-Myers
Squibb are a clear indication that stakeholders can work together effectively
to make a difference. We are honored to be the first university in this
state-of-the-art initiative, welcome Montclair to the network, and look
forward to working with PRISM in the future."
New Jersey Commissioner of Education William L. Librera said,"The
McGreevey Administration and Department of Education encourage, foster
and support collaborative partnerships in education so that our children
continue to receive the best opportunities possible. This partnership
between Bristol-Myers Squibb, Rider and Montclair State universities is
precisely the type of program we hope to see more of in the future across
the state. We firmly believe in our mission statement, that all children
in the state of New Jersey are entitled to multiple and diverse paths
to success. We are so very pleased that Bristol-Myers Squibb, Rider and
Montclair State share this vision, and we wish this endeavor well."
The inquiry method teaches science by conditioning students to ask questions,
formulate hypotheses, describe and record events and then communicate
their conclusions. This differs from the lecture and rote memorization
routines that prevail at most universities and schools in the country.
Entries wanted for photo competition and exhibition
The Global Education Center and the Art Galleries are sponsoring
Global Images 2004 International Travel Photography by MSU Faculty and
Staff competition and exhibition.
The deadline for entries is 4 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Art Gallery in Life
Hall. For guidelines, go to www.montclair.edu/globaled/global_images.htm.
Selected works will be exhibited in Gallery One from March 4-26.
Procurement Services offers Purchasing Card
Procurement Services is implementing a Purchasing Card Program that allows
faculty and staff to purchase small dollar items through the use of a
University credit card. "Our ultimate goal is to substantially eliminate
the need for small dollar purchase orders, direct reimbursements, petty
cash accounts and operational advances," said Tony Mejido, director
of Procurement Services. The major objectives of the program include the
following:
• Simplify the acquisition of goods and services
• Streamline the purchasing and accounts payable process
• Reduce processing costs
• Reduce purchase order and accounts payable cycle time
• Reduce purchasing and accounts payable transaction volume
The University has entered into a purchasing card program agreement with
PNC Bank, which will provide the University with credit card services
through the use of the internationally accepted VISA credit card.
A four-month pilot program was conducted with the College of Science and
Mathematics, Physical Plant, and Student Development and Campus Life.
"The pilot was a success and participants were pleased with the ease
of use of the purchasing card," Mejido said. "The pilot demonstrated
its flexibility and reliability when making small dollar purchases. Procurement
Services is now expanding this program to University departments. It is
expected that full implementation will be complete by the end of fiscal
2004."
The purchasing card is a University credit card and is to be used for
University business purposes only. The University is responsible for payment
of all authorized purchases made with the card. Purchases will be charged
to the card holder's department.
For more information about the Purchasing Card Program, call Christine
Palma, assistant director of Procurement Services, at 973-655-4423
Gallery presents "The Garden State as Art Material"
The Art Gallery is featuring "Earth, Sand and Water: The Garden State
as Art Material," a site-specific exhibit featuring works by Nisha
Drinkard, Ginger Andro and Chuck Glicksman, through Dec. 20. The three
artists utilize New Jersey's natural indigenous resources to create their
installation pieces. Teresa Rodriguez, acting director of the gallery,
is the curator.
Drinkard created two pieces for the exhibition, "Blue Waterfall"
and "White Waterfall." "Blue Waterfall" is located
in the gallery's outdoor Sculpture Garden. The piece is made of eight
panels, each 150 feet long, of cotton cloth dyed in indigo, which vary
in width from 11 inches to 30 inches. "White Waterfall," which
is located inside the gallery, includes eight panels of silk dyed in tea,
onion skins and madder. The piece extends from one end of the gallery
and cascades to the floor. The silk is 150 feet long, creating fabric
puddles along the floor. Drinkard finds inspiration for her installations
as she drives.
"The waterfall I drive by every day to work changes from summer
to winter. I see the waterfall in all kinds of weather," she explained.
"In the winter it is covered with ice, in the spring the buds start
to block my view of the waterfall and by summer, leaves mask my view of
the falls."
The collaborations of Andro and Glicksman are a hybrid of their individual
aesthetics, crossing disciplinary lines of painting, sculpture and photography
through the use of video, mirrors, fabric, sound and scent. In using the
Garden State as art material, this collaborative team has selected subjects
that inspired three multi-media installations that explore nature.
"The Flow" uses video images of the Great Falls of Paterson
projected on a sculptural form and is accompanied by an original soundtrack
by Jim Papoulis. "Habitat" examines the ecological relationship
between the migratory Red Knot and the horseshoe crab through images of
the Delaware Bay reflected in shaped mirrors. "Down the Shore"
explores the phenomena of the ever-changing tide and shoreline.
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday
11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Gallery Gift Shop is open during regular gallery hours
and features fine art and craft items handmade by national and international
artists. Admission is free.