April 1, 2010

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that it is awarding $2,252,355 as part of the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program to the National Math and Science Initiative to implement the highly-regarded UTeach program at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.

“This grant will help create a new generation of math and science teachers in the United States,” said Tom Luce, CEO of NMSI.  “Some estimates project that our nation will need an additional 280,000 math and science teachers by 2015, and the UTeach program is playing a key role in providing those teachers.”

NMSI has helped implement the UTeach program for recruiting and preparing math and science teachers in 13 universities across the country since 2008 and is expanding to 21 universities this year. Created originally by The University of Texas at Austin, UTeach enables college students to graduate in four years with deep content knowledge in a math or science major as well as teaching certification.  Ninety-two percent of UTeach graduates from the UT-Austin program become teachers, and 82 percent are still in the classroom after five years.

The grant announced Tuesday was one of only 12 funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program.  It will be used to launch the UTeach program at ClevelandState during the 2010-2011 school year and will apply UTeach elements to broader reform of teacher preparation there.

Founded in 1964, Cleveland State University is a public research institution. The university has an enrollment of more than 16,000 students, 8 colleges and more than 250 academic programs.

Thanks to the $500 million in “Race to the Top” funds awarded to Tennessee by the Department of Education Monday (March 29), two additional universities in Tennessee will be able to implement the UTeach program in 2010, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of Memphis.

Enrollment in the UTeach program has nearly doubled in just two years, attracting more than 2,500 math and science majors to date nationwide. It is estimated that 1,000 teachers will be produced annually from the 21 UTeach sites by 2015, who will impact more than 2.5 million students over their teaching careers.

“Demand for the UTeach program continues to grow around the country,” said Luce.  “The fact that enrollment has nearly doubled in one year confirms that more college students will seek careers as math and science teachers if you provide an approach that makes sense.  What we must do now is engage more corporations, foundations, and state governments in expanding this proven program across the nation.”

About UTeach:  Originated at The University of Texas at Austin in 1997, the UTeach program enables students majoring in math, science, or computer science to receive full teaching certification without adding time or cost to their degrees.  About 45 percent of the UTeach graduates teach in high-need schools.  The national replication process is directed by NMSI in conjunction with the UTeach Institute. 

The core elements of the UTeach program include:

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Active recruitment and incentives, such as offering the first two courses for free.
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A compact degree program that allows students to graduate in four years with both a degree and teaching certification.
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A strong focus on acquiring deep content knowledge in math and science, in addition to research-based teaching strategies focusing on teaching and learning math and science.
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Early and intensive field teaching experience, beginning in the UTeach students’ first semester.
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Personal guidance from experienced master teachers, faculty and public school teachers.

About NMSI:  The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to reverse the troubling decline in American math and science education.  NMSI is dedicated to dramatically impacting the U.S. public school system by bringing best practices to education and replicating programs nationally that have proven success in math and science education.

Inaugural funding for NMSI was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Expansion of the UTeach program is supported by additional funding from the UTeach Institute, Texas Instruments Foundation, the Texas High School Project, the Greater Texas Foundation, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the Tennessee Department of Education, Texas Education Agency, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and other private contributions.

With funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, NMSI will also increase the impact of the program by launching an alumni network for UTeach graduates in 2011.

Universities implementing the UTeach program:

The University of Texas at Austin (1997)

First Cohort (2008)

Florida StateUniversity

Louisiana StateUniversity

Northern Arizona University

Temple University

University of California, Berkley

University of California, Irvine

University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Florida

University of Houston

University of Kansas

University of North Texas

University of Texas at Dallas

Western Kentucky University

Second Cohort (2010)

Cleveland State University

Middle Tennessee State University

University of Texas at Arlington

University of Texas at Tyler

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

University of Memphis

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

For more information, visit http://www.nationalmathandscience.org or www.uteach-institute.org.

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Contacts: Rena Pederson, Communications Director, National Math and Science Initiative (214) 665-2523 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it OR Tracy LaQuey Parker, Director, The UTeach Institute (512) 232-0687 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it