Dr. Catherine A. Brown has been appointed the new head of the Division of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC). Brown, who joined the Indiana University Bloomington faculty in 1996, will also serve as director of IUPUC’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). In addition to her teaching and research responsibilities as a professor of mathematics education in Bloomington, Brown served as the associate dean for Research and Development of the Indiana University School of Education from 1998–2008. She also directed the school’s Center for Research on Learning and Technology from 2003-04 and the Center for Research and P-16 Collaboration from 2006-08.
According to Dr. Marwan Wafa, vice chancellor and dean of IUPUC, Brown’s accomplishments as an educator, researcher, and administrator are substantial. “Dr. Brown has a proven track record in both scholarship and leadership, especially in P-20 education. Her academic credentials and strategic focus will be invaluable assets to the university community as well as the larger region we serve.”
Wafa points to Brown’s role in introducing project-based learning (PBL) methodologies to K-12 teachers in our area as an example of her innovative work. The PBL Academy, a program jointly sponsored by EcO15 and the Indiana University School of Education, is in its third year of preparing educators to use standards-based PBL instruction in their classrooms.
The PBL Academy has been instrumental in the growth of interest in and the number of teachers using PBL in southeast Indiana classrooms. To date, approximately 250 teachers have participated in professional development opportunities offered by the PBL Academy.
“Our goal is to help teachers improve student achievement and learning outcomes through rigorous, authentic standards-related projects that prepare students for mandated assessments, like I-STEP, as well as the demands of college and the 21st century workforce,” Brown says of her work, which has been funded by the Indiana STEM Resource Network, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and EcO15. “One particularly important aspect of the PBL units teachers develop through our academy is the connection of the projects to the local communities in which the students and their families live. In this way, we can help make learning more engaging and relevant.”
Brown looks forward to her new role on the Columbus campus. “IUPUC continually seeks to provide needed academic programs, develop important research activities in which faculty members and students can engage, and find new ways to improve the quality of life in the region we serve. IUPUC has a well-deserved reputation for being a collaborative institution that is responsive to local and regional needs. I am committed to developing instructional practices, including Web-based instruction and the use of PBL concepts to provide greater access to and engagement in education for students of all ages and backgrounds.”
In addition to her work at IU, Brown has held teaching, research, and administrative positions at Virginia Tech and the University of Pittsburgh. She has a B.A. in mathematics, a B.S. in education, an M.A.T. in mathematics from Miami University, and an Ed.D. in mathematics education from the University of Georgia.