Ohio University will join six other universities in the state as part of the Woodrow Wilson Ohio Teaching Fellowship program, which trains selected fellows to become teachers in Ohio’s urban and rural schools.
Those selected for the program, including recent college graduates and others with a background in science and math, receive a stipend to engage in a one-year training program at one of seven participating universities in Ohio. Participants in the program will train to be math and science teachers for some of Ohio’s urban and rural schools.
“Ohio University is delighted to be selected,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit. “We feel that we have a lot to offer, and we feel like we have a lot to learn. We are just so excited about being part of this project.”
Each of the 65 fellows in the 2011 program received $30,000, according to a news release from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. They were selected from a pool of 1,500 applicants, said Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
“These fellows are amazing,” Levine said. “They have grades and honors my parents would only dream of for me.”
The three universities joining the Woodrow Wilson Ohio Teaching Fellowship program are Ohio University, the University of Dayton and the University of Toledo. The four other participating universities include the University of Akron, the University of Cincinnati, John Carroll University and Ohio State University.
“The positive thing in this is the recognition that Ohio has a relationship here, cares about student development and education,” said Chancellor of Ohio’s Board of Regents Jim Petro. “In all of those things, I think we kind of underscore the importance of these programs to Ohio’s economic growth, which continues in great part because of some of these kinds of initiatives.”
Petro added the fellows would be placed in school districts around their respective universities — meaning OU’s partnership will bring some of these teachers to Appalachia.
“Ohio’s rural Appalachia is our target geographic region, and (OU) has a profound opportunity to build the model for rural education and become (a) national exemplar,” said Renée Middleton, dean of OU’s Patton College of Education and Human Services, in an email. “The immediate benefit for science and mathematics education majors will be richer, more extensive clinical experiences.”
OU will be one of the schools receiving fellows in the 2012 class. After one year of school, the fellows will teach for three years. According to the organization’s website, it expects around 20 fellows at each institution each year. Funding for the fellowships comes from government money as well as private donations.
“The end result of this program, 65 fellows will have taught 6,500 students in their first year,” Levine said.“I think these fellows are going to make a large difference in the state of Ohio.”
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