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College of Science E-Newsletter
November,
2009
Dear Friends of the College of Science:
Last week we were all saddened to learn of the passing of a dear friend and colleague in the Mathematics Department, Ms. Diane Pugmire. This edition of the College of Science E-Newsletter includes an article on Diane's wonderful career at Weber State University, and how she impacted the lives of many thousands of students.
In this E-Newsletter you will also learn about important upcoming events in the College of Science, exciting outreach activities sponsored by the Center for Science and Mathematics Education and the Natural Science Museum, and opportunities to support the various programs in the College.
Sincerely,
Dr. Dale Ostlie, Dean
If you would prefer not to receive future editions of the E-Newsletter, simply reply to this e-mail with REMOVE in the subject heading and I will remove your name from the distribution list.
In This Issue:
- Upcoming Events
- Weber State University Mourns the Passing of Diane Pugmire
- The Center for Science and Mathematics Education and the Museum of Natural Science
- Opportunities to support the mission of the College of Science
Next Science
Saturday
November 28,
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
A new program series called Science Saturday started this fall with very successful events on September 26 and October 31. The October 31 event had 375 people in attendance for a fun-filled Halloween experience. Sponsored by the College of Science, Museum of Natural Science and the Ott Planetarium, the Museum and Planetarium will be open on Saturday, November 28 from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The program includes free Planetarium shows and museum admission as well as student and faculty led science activities designed for all ages. Be sure that you don't miss the next Science Saturday! Please see the attached flyer.
Diane Pugmire, Mathematics Instructor Specialist, Passed Away on October 28, 2009:
Diane was an award-winning instructor in the Department of Mathematics at WSU. She and longtime colleague Dixie Blackinton were recently named Educators of the Year by the Utah Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (UASCD). She touched the lives of thousands of students since first coming to teach at WSU in 1984.Diane was passionate about working with student teachers and giving them the skills to be successful in the classroom, especially the ability to explain mathematical concepts to elementary school children. In addition to educating university students, Diane and Dixie developed in-service professional development programs for teachers in local school districts. Diane Pugmire was one of those faculty members who had a true passion for teaching and a tremendous commitment to helping students succeed, even when they themselves didn’t have confidence in their own mathematical abilities. Diane cared about each and every student she worked with. Diane was especially dedicated to ensuring that new elementary education teachers had the knowledge and skills to help young children understand mathematics and build a solid foundation for their future education. Diane was an alumna of Weber State College, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the institution in 1978 and 1990 respectively. On behalf of the faculty, staff and students at Weber State University, we extend our deepest sympathies to Diane’s family and friends. She will be dearly missed. The Diane Pugmire Memorial Scholarship has been created to honor the memory of Diane and the wonderful teacher, mentor and friend she was. The Pugmire family has asked those who knew Diane to e-mail memories and stories to dianepugmire@gmail.com to help compile a memory book. You can also express condolences or post a memory about Diane on WSU's Facebook page or YouTube page. To Donate: Go to weber.edu/give and click on “click here to make an online gift.” On the next screen select ‘OTHER’ and type in Diane Pugmire Memorial Scholarship in the comment field. |
The Center for Science and Mathematics Education and the Museum of Natural Science:
This has been a hectic and very productive year for both the CSME and the Museum of Natural Science.
There were nine Science and Society Seminar Series (S4) presentations from January to March highlighting several different areas including geoscience, physics, chemistry, zoology, and water and wastewater treatment. Ninety-one students (vs 35 last year) from six local high schools, four junior high schools and one elementary school registered for the seminars. On average, 50 visitors attended each week, and 47 (including the three elementary students) out of the 91 registered students attended at least 7 sessions and earned a field guide of their choice. Presenters included seven College of Science (COS) faculty, six COS students and a representative from the North Davis Sewer District.
On Saturday, March 28th,
the Center hosted Utah's 20th Science Olympiad tournament where 717 students
from 66 teams (an increase from 45 last year) from 60 different schools (vs 42
last year) from18 districts (vs 14 last year) participated. Fourteen schools participated for the first
time. One of the schools participating
in Science Olympiad for only the second time won 2nd place in the B (middle
school) Division.
We could not host this tournament without the support of the many volunteers who logged over 970 hours helping coordinate events and provide event support: 24 College of Science faculty, 1 faculty member each from the Colleges of Education, Social Sciences, and Information Systems and Technology, 63 WSU students, 23 WSU Americorp students, 6 secondary science teachers and 39 volunteers from businesses and other sources for a total of 158 volunteers.
Continued funding from the Office of the State Science Advisor and Rocky Mountain Space Grant Consortium allowed us to continue to offer a two day summer Science Olympiad training camp in August for sixteen teachers new to Science Olympiad from throughout the state. Workshops about various Science Olympiad events were presented by event coordinators and coaches and the training camp also included tips on beginning a team, training the team for the events and how Science Olympiad works. The science teachers returned in October for two more days of training.
The annual Utah Coaches Clinic for all interested coaches was held Saturday, Oct 17, 2009 with a record number of teachers in attendance.
In response to the increased student and teacher interest, Utah Science Olympiad will hold three regional competitions for the first time this spring. These events will be held in Kaysville, Ephraim and Cedar City. Please contact Dr. Sharon Ohlhorst if you are interested in helping with any of these.
The CSME also facilitated three professional development courses for teachers this summer: Microbiology of Harsh Environments (Dr. Craig Oberg), Advanced Physics (Dr. Adam Johnston), and Invertebrate Zoology (Dr. John Mull). These courses are supported by the Utah State Office of Education and designed to help teachers gain training needed to teach additional science courses.
The Secondary Science Teaching program also continues to grow, attracting more students than just a few years ago.
The Museum of Natural Sciences
In collaboration with the
Ott Planetarium, the Museum of Natural Science staff presented activities to
approximately 1,641 students from 13 elementary schools, a preparatory academy,
a charter middle school, and a public middle school visiting from Ogden, Weber,
and Cache school districts. The most
popular activities include the
The Museum of Natural
Science celebrated National Museum Day on Saturday, September 26 with the
beginning of the Science Saturdays Program.
In collaboration with the Ott Planetarium, Science Saturdays brings
families to the Lind Lecture Hall to participate in a variety of hands-on
science activities and demonstrations.
Activities presented by WSU students at the first program included
Strawberry
New exhibits are under development with the help of COS faculty including one on native Utah fishes and another on desert animals and their adaptations.
Opportunities to Support the Mission of the College of Science:
Private gifts to WSU’s College
of Science impact our students and programs in very direct and significant
ways. Gifts help fully or partially fund
scholarships for nearly 60 students annually and provide financial assistance to
numerous undergraduate research projects vital to academic success in science.
Private funding helps support
the college’s outreach programs, including ‘Science in
the Parks,’ Science Olympiad, the Ritchey Science and
Engineering Fair, and K-12 field trips to the Ott
Planetarium and Museum of Natural
Sciences.
Thousands of pre-university students in Northern Utah were engaged and
inspired by these exciting outreach programs.
In addition, endowed funding for the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke Family Pre-Medical Professional Program provides WSU’s pre-professional students with the resources to continue to have acceptance rates of 80 percent and higher to medical and professional schools.
The ways in which private gifts impact our students
go on and on.
You can make that same kind of difference in the life of a student in the
College of Science. Contact Lisa Largent 801-626-7728, llargent@weber.edu for more information. If you are interested in donating online or
want to read about a variety of ways you can make a gift, see http://weber.edu/GivingAGift/.
Weber State University Ogden, Utah 84408 |