Meet the NSTA Leadership
Dr. Patricia M. Shane, President, 2009–2010
Dr. Patricia M. Shane, associate director of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMSE) and clinical professor of science education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is president of the National Science Teachers Association. She began her one-year term on June 1, 2009.
Shane brings years of leadership and teaching experience to NSTA through her work as a classroom teacher, associate director, college professor, project coordinator, and science consultant to several publishing companies and school systems. In addition to having taught middle level science for 17 years, Shane worked as a middle and junior high school counselor and served as a science, mathematics, English language arts, and reading coordinator for the Chapel Hill–Carrboro City schools in North Carolina. She also served as president of the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA), North Carolina Science Teachers Association (NCSTA), and the North Carolina Science Leadership Association (NCSLA). Since 1992, Shane has been employed at CMSE, focusing on improving K-12 science and mathematics education in North Carolina.
An NSTA member since 1985, Shane has contributed extensively to the association. She served as a district director and a Building a Presence for Science state coordinator, worked on numerous committees and task forces, edited five NSTA books on science leadership and issues, and presented several sessions at NSTA national and area conferences.
During her distinguished career, Shane has received $2 million in grant funding for various projects. Her other accomplishments and awards include receiving the Vi Hunsucker Outstanding Science Educator Award, NSELA's Presidential Award and National Outstanding Science Supervisor Award, the Herman Gatling Award for Outstanding Science Supervisor, the Science Star Award, and the Distinguished Service in Science Education Award—administrator/supervisor division.
Shane earned three degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington between 1966 and 1976, and received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, with concentrations in science and reading, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987.
Dr. Alan J. McCormack, President-Elect, 2009–2010
Dr. Alan J. McCormack, professor of science education at San Diego State University (SDSU), in San Diego, California, is president-elect of NSTA. He began his one-year term on June 1, 2009, and will assume the office of president on June 1, 2010.
McCormack has been a committed teacher, educator, and member of the science education community for more than 40 years. Prior to joining SDSU in 1987, McCormack was a professor at the University of Wyoming, the University of British Columbia, and State University of New York (SUNY), New Paltz. McCormack was also a research educator at Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and was a middle level science teacher in New York state.
A life member of the NSTA and a former district director, McCormack is also very active with elementary science education and serves as the current president of the Council for Elementary Science International (CESI), an NSTA affiliate group dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in K–8 science education. McCormack has also served on a number of key NSTA committees including the Teacher Education Committee and the Science and Children Advisory Board. McCormack is the author of 70 journal articles, 12 science textbooks, three science handbooks, and has been a presenter at several NSTA national and area conferences since 1978. In 1990, he was presented with the NSTA Distinguished Teaching Award. McCormack has also received the NSTA Gustav Ohaus Award for Advancement in Science Education, the NSTA-STAR Award, and the NSTA Ohaus Award for Innovations in College Science Teaching. The Wyoming Science Teachers Association (WSTA) also recognized McCormack with the Excellence in Science Teaching award in 1986.
In addition to his work and lifelong commitment to NSTA, McCormack has served on the board of directors for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was president of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). He was instrumental in the development of the Full-Option Science System (FOSS) and was director of the Foss Leadership Training Center for several years.
McCormack holds an undergraduate degree from SUNY, a master's degree in natural sciences from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in science education at the University of Northern Colorado.
Page D. Keeley, Retiring President, 2009–2010
Page D. Keeley, a senior science program director at the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA), is the retiring president of the National Science Teachers Association.
An active member of the science education community for over 20 years, Keeley is well known for her leadership and dedication to quality science teaching and learning. In addition to having taught science for 15 years at the middle and high school levels, Keeley has worked as a research assistant in immunogenetics at the Jackson Laboratory, served as a science literacy leader in the Project 2061 Professional Development Program, and worked as an adjunct instructor at the University of Maine. Since 1996, Keeley has been employed at MMSA, focusing on program design, professional development, and publications in the areas of teacher leadership, science instruction, standards, mentoring and new teacher support, and formative assessment. Additionally, Keeley has been the principal investigator on 3 National Science Foundation grants totaling over $5 million dollars.
Keeley’s other leadership activities include serving two terms as the president of the Maine Science Teachers Association (MSTA), NSTA District II Director, NSTA Executive Board member 1996–98, and serving two elected terms on her local school board. She has served on several national advisory boards for various NSF-funded projects and statewide initiatives. Keeley is the author of several books widely used in professional development and preservice teacher education and has published material in NSTA journals.
In 1999, Keeley became a National Academy for Science and Mathematics Education Leadership Fellow. Her other awards and accomplishments include receiving the Phil Marcoux Memorial Award for outstanding service to science education in Maine in 1997, AT&T Maine Governor's Fellow for Technology in 1994, the Milken Foundation National Distinguished Educator Award in 1993, and a Presidential Award for Excellence in Secondary Science Teaching in 1992.
Keeley earned a bachelor's degree in life science, with a pre-veterinary concentration, from the University of New Hampshire and a master's degree in science education from the University of Maine.
Dr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director
Dr. Francis Q. Eberle is the executive director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the world's largest professional organization representing science educators of all grade levels.
Before joining the association’s staff in September 2008, Dr. Eberle served as executive director of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving mathematics and science education in that state. During his time there, he worked to develop state curriculum frameworks and provide professional development and resources to schools and teachers throughout Maine.
Prior to joining MMSA in 1993, Dr. Eberle was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Southern Maine, where he taught prospective elementary teachers. Eberle also founded and was executive director of the STAR Foundation, a nonprofit organization that produced science education materials and offered informal science experiences for students.
For more than a dozen years, Dr. Eberle taught middle and high school science in Maine. He served as president of the Maine Science Teachers Association (MSTA), as well as on several boards, advisory groups, and committees for various state and national organizations, including the National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions (NASSMC), the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE), and the Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC).
A renowned researcher in the science education community, Dr. Eberle is the lead or co-lead on numerous research projects underwritten by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education on a host of collaborative science and math education reform initiatives. Eberle’s research has focused on integrating engineering into the high school curriculum, training inservice teachers, mentoring new teachers, involving parents in science and math, and integrating technology into the science and math classroom.
Dr. Eberle has also published extensively for the science and mathematics communities. He coauthored the popular NSTA Press® book series Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, and he has contributed extensively to many scholarly journals on key aspects of science teaching and learning. He has also served as keynote speaker at numerous NSTA area and national conferences.
Eberle has been honored for his service to science education. He has received MSTA’s Philip Marcoux Memorial Award for outstanding service to science education and was recognized by the Maine Department of Education with its Alan M. Argondizza Award for outstanding service to elementary science education. Before he joined NSTA, Maine’s House of Representatives and Senate issued a proclamation recognizing him for his 20 years of dedication to science and math, and he also received a commendation from Maine Governor John E. Baldacci.
Eberle holds a doctorate in educational studies from Lesley University, a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Connecticut, and a bachelor’s degree in science education from Boston University. He lives in McLean, Virginia, with his wife Diane and daughter Charlotte.