Keppelmann named director of outreach for College of Science

Ed Keppelmann. Photo by Jean Dixon.

As a former department chairman, as well as a father of school-age children, Ed Keppelmann brings an exciting perspective to his new position as director of outreach for the College of Science.

Keppelmann, who began his post last month, was chairperson of the Department of Mathematics from 2001-2006 and has been a faculty member at the University since 1993.

“Ed is uniquely qualified for this position,” says David Westfall, dean of the College of Science. “He has played an integral role over the course of his career at Nevada in creating a strong pathway for math education in this state, from K-12 to the college level.”

Keppelmann, married and the father of three children, ages 5, 10 and 14, says that the connection that has been established between the University and statewide K-12 education is an important one and must continue to grow. In his role as director of outreach, he says that “as a land-grant institution, we should be reaching out to the school districts of this state, including the smaller ones. To build our new college, whatever strong connections we can make with K-12 will certainly help. The fact that we’re still a somewhat new college is really to our advantage – we probably receive more attention because of this, which is a good thing.”

Last spring, in recognition of the work he has done, Keppelmann was honored with the Education Collaborative’s “Best Individual Achievement” award. The Education Collaborative concentrates on improving education in the community, and the state, through work with the Washoe County School District, higher education and the local business community.

Keppelmann is a strong believer in the benefits of math and science education. And in his own low-key yet heartfelt way, he says that the College of Science is a critical component in the University’s future – not only in attracting quality students, but in creating a better-educated, numerically literate, technologically savvy workforce that has been championed by the state’s business and government leaders.

“I think we’re a centerpiece for the University,” says Keppelmann, who has played a key role during his time at Nevada in improving the state’s math standards. His involvement has included writing all the copy for the one-stop math website for Washoe County students called washoemath.org. The site features math tips, tutorials as well as other tools for success. He was also responsible for bringing the University of Arizona’s MAPPs (Math and Parent Partnerships) program to Washoe County. This is now active in 29 schools in the district. The staff at the Education Collaborative hope to soon have funds for a full-time teacher. The program not only makes math fun for parents, it also helps them see many ways that a good math education is an important part of a well-rounded education. The mini courses and math fun nights provide parents with tools to encourage their children to see math as something fun and integral to their everyday lives.

Keppelmann says he will embark on creating a database for all outreach programs and activities currently being pursued in the college. He’s in the midst of meeting with all department chairs and program directors in the college to get a better feel for what is happening on the outreach front.

“There’s so much going on, so I want to make sure I’m aware of everything before we embark on anything big,” he says. “I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes. I just want to enhance what is happening and give everything the exposure it needs to continue to be successful.”

From the math perspective, Keppelmann is part of a grant proposal with the College of Education and Washoe County School District to develop a new math course for seniors in high school, for the district’s new Gateway Curriculum, which took effect in fall 2006 for incoming freshmen. The curriculum includes four years of English, four years of math, three years of science and three years of social studies.

“Incorporating the math of many activities here in the College of Science and elsewhere on campus is a great way to advertise the College of Science and the University,” he says. “Requiring four years of science in the new curriculum’s requirements would be even better. At some point, we hope the Nevada Department of Education will look at adding the fourth year to all the school districts in the state.

“This certainly is the plan for eligibility for the Millennium Scholarship.”

In the meantime, though, Keppelmann plans on staying plenty busy. The biggest outreach goal, he says, is to provide programming that has an impact.

“Our faculty are already doing great things,” he says. “We just need to make a point of telling everyone about them.”

“I see this with my own kids,” he adds. “We keep hearing that the best math they learn is math that they’ll use not only in class but for the rest of their lives. That’s the big goal, whether it’s math or science. We need to provide education that our students aren’t going to forget.”

John Trent, public relations director, can be reached at jtrent@unr.edu.

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