Eberly Professor of STEM Education
Gay
Stewart received her PhD in physics from University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, 1994. She accepted a faculty position at University of
Arkansas in 1994, where she focused on three interrelated issues: improving the
introductory sequence to better prepare students to succeed in science and
engineering degrees, improving the preparation of physics majors for the
variety of career options open to physicists, and the preparation of future
faculty, for both high school and professoriate. The undergraduate program saw
dramatic improvement, with a 10-fold increase in number of graduates. UA was
one of six initial institutions in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition and
produces approximately two percent of the high school physics teachers with
physics degrees nationally. Gay first received NSF support for her work in
1995. As a teaching assistant mentor, she developed a preparation program that
grew into one of four sites for the NSF/AAPT “Shaping the Preparation of Future
Science Faculty.” She was co-PI of an NSF GK-12 project that placed fellows in
middle school mathematics and science classrooms. The results were so favorable
that helping math and science teachers to work together was a component of the
$7.3M NSF-MSP. Through the Noyce program she received $1,050,000 for
support of students and master physics teachers. She chaired the College
Board’s Science Academic Advisory Committee, co-chaired the Advanced Placement
Physics Redesign commission, and the AP Physics 2 Development Committee. In
2014, Gay transitioned to WVU, where she is Eberly Professor of STEM Education
and the founding director of the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education. The
transdisciplinary Center works with faculty across STEM and related disciplines
at WVU, partner programs, and the WV Department of Education to enhance STEM
education and STEM education opportunities in West Virginia, grades K-20.
Improving STEM education is key to improving West Virginia’s economy.
Download Gay Stewart's presentation from Academic Media Day.