Drs. Cheriyath and Kopachena Named National Academies Education Fellows

The National Academies have named Drs. Venu Cheriyath and Jeffery Kopachena National Academies Education Fellows in the Life Sciences for the 2013-2014 academic year. The honor recognizes their selection to and participation in the 2013 National Academies Gulf Coast Summer Institute on Undergraduate Science Education, which was held at Louisiana State University (LSU) in late July.

The Summer Institute occurs annually in seven regions of the U.S. and is organized by the National Research Council's Board on Life Sciences in partnership with the Center for Scientific Teaching at Yale University. Each summer, faculty from research intensive institutions participate in professional development programs that encourage them to take greater responsibility for high-quality undergraduate biology education.

This summer at LSU, teams from 17 universities and colleges from across the U.S. assembled for five days of events focused on enhancing undergraduate education through the themes active learning, assessment and diversity. The teams gathered to develop “teachable tidbits” that they agreed to incorporate into courses and assess at their individual institutions.

In her announcement of Cheriyath and Kopachena's designations as Education Fellows, Barbara A. Schaal, chair of the Division of Earth and Life Studies at the National Research Council, noted the importance of the professors' participation for A&M-Commerce.

“By sending this team to the National Academies Gulf Coast Summer Institute, your institution joins others at the forefront of improving undergraduate education, which is essential for preparing both future scientists and scientifically literate citizens,” Schaal said.

For more information on The National Academies and the Summer Institutes, visit http://www.national-academies.org/ and http://nasummerinstitutes.org/.