Valerie Haywood, senior instructor of biology, was elected to serve as president of the Ohio regional network for Project Kaleidoscope (OH-PKAL). The national PKAL organization, part of the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), serves as a leading advocate for transforming undergraduate STEM learning and education in the United States, promoting learner-centered education and supporting evidenced-based best practices, faculty development and community engagement.
Haywood will serve as president of OH-PKAL through May of 2021. She has been involved with OH-PKAL since 2015 when she was first asked to serve on the governing board. She was then elected secretary of the executive board from 2016 to 2018 and was asked to represent OH-PKAL at AAC&U’s Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in Science Institute in 2017. This led to the procurement of a grant from the national PKAL office to enhance the OH-PKAL annual conference, allowing them to invite keynote speaker Melvin Hall, a senior scholar in AAC&U’s Office of Undergraduate STEM Education.
“I look forward to the next three years with OH-PKAL. I’m very enthusiastic about our efforts to bring awareness to undergraduate STEM education reform, particularly ways to enhance retention and diversity in STEM,” said Haywood. “OH-PKAL has several grant opportunities for interested faculty, including the STEM Teaching Partnership and the STEM Teaching Collaboration Project. I strongly encourage interested faculty to apply!”
For more information, visit the OH-PKAL website.