Dr. Alan J. McCormack Begins Term as President of The National Science Teachers Association

ARLINGTON, Va., June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching, announced that Dr. Alan J. McCormack, Professor of Science Education at San Diego State University, began his one-year term as president of the NSTA on June 1, 2010.

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"McCormack has been a committed teacher educator and member of the science education community for more than 40 years," said Francis Eberle, executive director, NSTA. "We are honored that he has been elected to lead the science education community."

Prior to joining SDSU in 1987, Dr. McCormack was a professor at the University of Wyoming, the University of British Columbia, and SUNY, New Paltz.  McCormack was also a research educator at Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley, and was a middle level science teacher in New York State.

McCormack is also very active with elementary science education and serves as the current president of the Council for Elementary Science International, an NSTA affiliate group dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in K-8 science education.  

A life member of the NSTA and former District Director, McCormack is the author of 70 journal articles, 12 science textbooks, 3 science handbooks, and has been a presenter at NSTA national and area conferences since 1978. He also served on a number of key NSTA committees most notably the Teacher Education Committee and the Science and Children Advisory Board. In 1990 he was presented with the NSTA Distinguished Teaching Award, and has also received the NSTA Gustav Ohaus Award for Advancement of Science Education, the NSTA-STAR Award, and the NSTA Ohaus Award for Innovations in College Science Teaching. The Wyoming Science Teachers Association recognized him for Excellence in Science Teaching in 1986.

In addition to his work and lifelong commitment to NSTA, McCormack 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, completed his Ph.D. in Science Education at the University of Northern Colorado.

About NSTA

The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), www.nsta.org, is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes more than 60,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.

SOURCE National Science Teachers Association