Erica N. Walker, an authority on the social and cultural factors and educational policies and practices that facilitate math engagement, learning and performance, especially for underserved students, has been named Clifford Brewster Upton Professor of Mathematical Education at Teachers College.
Walker is Chair of the College鈥檚 Department of Mathematics, Science & Technology and Director of its (IUME). A former public high school mathematics teacher who earned her doctorate from Harvard University in administration, planning and social policy, she is the author of two highly regarded books, Building Mathematics Learning Communities: Improving Outcomes in Urban High Schools (Teachers College Press, 2012) and Beyond Banneker: Black Mathematicians and the Paths to Excellence (SUNY Press, 2014). In 2015, she delivered the prestigious in Washington, D.C., to mark the 100thanniversary of the founding of the Mathematical Association of America.
Walker has 鈥渆merged as a statesperson in academia, universally respected here at Teachers College and nationwide.鈥�
鈥擯rovost Thomas James
鈥淭he Upton Chair signifies a scholar-practitioner who is a true thought leader in mathematics education 鈥� someone whose work not only advances the field, but sets its direction, opening new frontiers that ultimately broaden participation and the application of mathematics to the challenges in our society,鈥� said 麻豆原创 Provost Thomas James, who announced Walker鈥檚 new appointment at a College-wide faculty meeting this week. 鈥淭hrough reflection on her own experiences and her studies of the lives of great black mathematicians, Professor Walker has created a new paradigm for leveraging the informal mathematical 鈥榮ocialization鈥� of each person to inspire more young students to become interested in the creative, problem-solving aspects of math and to identify as 鈥榤ath people.鈥� She has created an extraordinarily successful model for peer tutoring in high schools. And she has emerged as a statesperson in academia, universally respected here at Teachers College and nationwide.鈥�
Walker succeeds Bruce R. Vogeli, previous holder of the Upton Chair, who has been named Clifford Brewster Upton Professor Emeritus. Vogeli was hailed by James for his bestselling school mathematics textbook series and his extensive documentation of how the teaching of mathematics varies in nations and cultures around the world.
Clifford Brewster Upton was a leading Professor of Mathematics Education at Teachers College during the first quarter of the 20th century, and also served as the College鈥檚 Provost. He published a number of textbooks, both alone and with George D. Strayer.