Murray State University is pleased to announce that Dr. John Mateja, Director of MSU’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity, will be on a one year assignment to the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C. DUE, housed in the Education and Human Resources Directorate at NSF, works to strengthen undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education across the U.S. as well as bridge pre-college and undergraduate education and promote advanced study in STEM fields.
As a DUE Program Director, one of Dr. Mateja’s responsibilities will be to oversee proposal reviews in physics for the Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program. “This is an interesting development,” Dr. Mateja said. “While I was Dean of MSU’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology, three MSU departments – biology, chemistry, and physics and engineering – were able to secure NSF CCLI awards. Of course, that was seven years ago and the cutting edge has changed,” Dr. Mateja went on to say. “This appointment will give me an opportunity to see what faculty around the country are doing to enhance undergraduate education today.”
“I’m not surprised the NSF was interested in having Dr. Mateja come to Washington,” said Dr. Gary Brockway, MSU Provost. “John is very active in the undergraduate education community at the state and national levels. He serves on numerous boards, including a recent appointment to the Board of Governors of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). In early April, he chaired the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) committee for the University of Houston. He was invited to chair this committee because undergraduate research was the focus of the University of Houston’s QEP.
The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of about $6.06 billion, the NSF is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.
Pending leave approval by the MSU Board of Regents, Dr. Mateja’s appointment will begin in August.