Report of the Committee on Education
for the Year Ending June 30, 2007

The Committee strove to finish its projects-in-progress and to continue advancing its other work of the past two years, while significant operational and staffing changes took place. In the face of this ongoing administrative transition, the Committee expressed its overarching concern about the fate of Education programming at the Society by posing the question, What is the role of education in the culture and mission of Sigma Xi? At the conclusion of FY07, this matter along with the Committee's own future trajectory remained an open question.

I. Meetings of the Committee

The Committee met by teleconference on 5 October 2006, to discuss the Leroy Record Fund Report prepared by visiting Summer Scholar Paul Klenk and to outline next steps in creating a new Record Fund Program. The Committee then met in person at the Sigma Xi Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., on 7 March 2007, to consider a full agenda of business. This included the latest developments stemming from the October 2006 discussion of the Record Fund Report (which were largely dealt with by the Engineering Subcommittee, during its own separate meeting on 8 March 2007).

II. Activities and Business of the Committee

Leroy Record Fund
During its October 2006 teleconference, the Committee considered the following recommended options for use of the Fund:

• augmenting GIAR
• creating a partnership with an existing service organization (e.g., Engineers Without Borders)
• engaging engineering undergraduates in teaching K-12 programs, via service-learning courses/fellowships or teacher-training summits.

Ultimately, the Committee judged that a teacher-training summit best suited the requirements of the Record Fund. Concerns about program continuity, extent of training and quality of lesson plans were addressed via a blended model that harnessed faculty expertise in writing the grant proposal to the Record Fund and then in teaching a service-learning course in engineering education. The RFP would be circulated among Sigma Xi chapters in good standing, effectively making this a Sigma Xi Chapter Program.

During its March 2007 meeting, the Engineering Subcommittee selected themselves as reviewers for any proposals received vis-à-vis this proposed RFP. The Subcommittee also developed relevant administrative, operational, budgetary and policy questions/ suggestions that would need answering before the proposed Record Fund Program could be implemented. The proposal in its latest form was circulated to key Sigma Xi staff for next steps, including review and feedback regarding chapter aspects. Following adoption of a final version by the full Education Committee, it is expected that the Record Fund RFP Program must be approved by the Society's Board of Directors.

Cuts to Sigma Xi Programs
During its March 2007 meeting, the Committee addressed the recent cuts to Programs (which included Education and its 1.0 fte staff person), the future plans for same, the need to preserve institutional memory, and the fate of specific planned and in-progress Education activities. In particular, the Committee learned that TOYChallenge 2007 was abruptly cancelled in the fall of 2006 after Sigma Xi declined to pay the $50k fee charged by TC's for-profit parent organization Sally Ride Science, to host the East Coast finals at the SX Center. The Society had offered to provide all other in-kind contributions per usual; however, SRS was dissatisfied with this altered arrangement and terminated its event partnership with Sigma Xi. Other Education projects and activities would be re-assigned on a case-by-case basis. The Committee elected to defer planning for FY08, until it learned which specific Education activities would continue, and their respective budget allotments. During this same meeting, staff leadership pledged its commitment to enhancing science education and to resuming/rebuilding Education initiatives pending financial capacity.

Proposed Anna Harrison Award
The Committee submitted a proposal to the Sigma Xi Board of Directors at its April 2007 Meeting, to create and fund the Anna J. Harrison Award In Education. The purpose of such an award would be to honor this extraordinarily gifted scientist and science teacher/ mentor, who had received 20 honorary degrees during her lifetime and served on the boards of AAAS, ACS and the NSB. [Approving this award proposal in principle, the Sigma Xi Board then referred the matter to the Awards Committee, which is expected to come back to the Board in November 2007 with its own formal recommendations for final Board action.]

New Distinguished Lecturer to Address Education
The Committee requested this new category be created and submitted a list of desired nominees to the Committee on Lectureships. The latter Committee met in April and selected Robert Mathieu, who will serve as Education Distinguished Lecturer from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2010.

SMEE Grants: competitiveness, rolling deadlines
Recognizing the value of this grant, especially for revitalizing chapters, the Committee supported staff's recommendation that SMEE Grants be additionally promoted via a new, special alert. It also adopted two firm application deadlines in lieu of the previous rolling deadline, and it increased the maximum amount of individual awards from $1,000 to $2,000.

Grantsmanship (Grant-writing) Workshops
In response to updates from various Sigma Xi staff, the Committee advised that the planned expansion of the Grantsmanship Workshops proceed, per Sigma Xi's February 2007 follow-up report to Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

MentorNet
The Committee recommended that Sigma Xi investigate what has made MentorNet as successful and popular as it is. One Committee member offered to evaluate similar programs and recommend those that could be run by the Society as pilots. The goal would be to scale up the best one to a national Sigma Xi program that could be implemented through our chapters.

Education Content in American Scientist
According to American Scientist staff, matters of curriculum and methods of pedagogy have never really been part of the magazine's identity or mission, and a column on science education might not be appropriate for this publication. Nonetheless, Committee members opined that articles about discipline-based education research might have a place here, perhaps inside "Sigma Xi Today," the membership section of the magazine. American Scientist staff invited the Committee to draft a proposal for a suitable article on science education within its pages.

Request for Sigma Xi to Endorse Joint Statement by NCUR and CUR
In June the Committee addressed an informal request by representatives of the Board of NCUR (National Council on Undergraduate Research) for Sigma Xi to endorse its joint statement with CUR [http://www.cur.org/SummitPosition.html]. After extended discussion, the Committee decided it could not support the statement as is, and thus could not recommend its endorsement by Sigma Xi's Board of Directors. This matter was tabled until such time that a formal written request from NCUR's Board of Directors is received.

Committee Makeup
The Committee judged that the ideal candidate to fill its single open membership slot would be a woman who is experienced in the engineering education field. The Engineering Subcommittee further recommended that its chair be appointed as a full member of the Education Committee, OR that, pending Board approval, the Engineering Subcommittee be dissolved and reconstituted as the "Record Fund Committee," with its chair continuing in this role on this re-formed/re-named committee.

III. Members of the FY07 Education Committee

Willie Pearson, Jr. Committee Chair
Norman Fortenberry
Fiona Goodchild
Kerry Havner
Myra Halpin
Catherine Manduca
Julia Clark

Staff Liaisons
Jenny Zilaro
Sharlini Sankaran
Laura J. Nigro

IV. Members of the FY07 Engineering Subcommittee

John Prados, Chair
Norman Fortenberry
Kerry Havner

Staff Liaisons
Sharlini Sankaran
Laura J. Nigro

V. Comments from the Chair The Committee has made progress in setting and achieving a number of its goals. The Committee has placed a temporary hold on its proposed activities pending the fiscal status of Sigma Xi Programs.