Awards and Fellows

STANYS Fellows Award

At the Annual Meeting in New York City on December 27, 1949, our organization inaugurated the STANYS Fellows Award Program to honor teachers who have served with distinction as science educators in New York State. These persons are chosen on the basis of their effective teaching and active participation in professional scientific organizations. Their leadership and scholarly endeavors in science education are noteworthy. The recipients are honored at the Annual Conference.

View the list of STANYS Fellows starting in 1950.

The procedure for the nomination of a Fellow and the evaluation process is described in the STANYS Fellow Nomination Package. This information is divided into six parts. The materials have been reformatted and reorganized with approval by the Board of Directors November 3, 2007.

Guidelines for the Preparation of Nomination Materials (Part 1)
Rules for Nominations (Part 2)
Nomination Form (Part 3; a writable document)
Presentating the Successful Awardee (Part 4)
Fellow Evaluation Rubric (Part 5)
Checklist (Part 6)
Fellow Nomination Complete Package (Parts 1-6)

Nomination materials must be postmarked by January 15th of the year in which the honor is to be bestowed and sent to the Fellows Committee Chairperson.

Gary Vorwald, Fellows Committee Chair
10 Chevy Drive
South Setauket, NY 11720

STANYS Fellow 2010: Mary Jean Syrek

Mary Jean has impressively contributed to science education in Western New York and statewide, through her efforts on behalf of students and teachers. Her career spanned 41 years, mainly with the Buffalo Public Schools.

Miss Syrek's education includes a BA from Medaille College in Buffalo and an MA from Fordham University in New York City in addition to certifications at the elementary level, in Reading, and secondary English. Her teaching career began in the Catholic schools of Buffalo, Syracuse, North Tonawanda, and New York City and continued with the Buffalo Public Schools in 1977. After teaching at Buffalo's Futures Academy and the Drew Science Magnet School, Mary Jean was asked to broaden her impact on students and teachers by becoming a program coordinator and science curriculum resource specialist. While in the classroom, Mary Jean did much to make the experiences relevant and realistic for the students and began extra curricular activities as well. These included the Young Astronaut Club and the Environmental Club. One of the students in the Young Astronaut Club is now in a Ph D program at MIT and doing research using data from a NASA funded project. Mary Jean took two students to the Challenger shuttle launch via a STANYS program. She regularly took groups of students to the Great Lakes Summit, an annual gathering of students from all of the "Great Lakes states" to share their knowledge and attend workshops.

The Buffalo Public Schools received an NSF grant (in conjunction with the Science Museum and First Hand Learning) to strengthen the inquiry basis of the science program at the elementary level. Mary Jean was chosen to be the coordinator of the grant's professional development activities for grades five and six teachers. In this role, she developed and presented workshops on inquiry and journaling, as well as, for specific science kits selected to be the core of the district science curriculum. Mary Jean had a profound impact on hundreds of teachers and thousands of students by this work over the ten years of the grant support.

When the 1985 Elementary Science Syllabus and its accompanying assessments were introduced in the late 1980s, the State Education Department established a statewide Elementary Science Mentor Network for dissemination throughout the state by means of a cadre of regional specialists, representing each large city and each BOCES. Later, these folks became known as the Science Assessment Liaisons (SALs), who promoted these successful assessments which are critical to the survival of curriculum changes. Mary Jean was identified by the Buffalo Science Director to represent Buffalo for this key activity. She became the conduit through which the innovative curriculum and assessments were presented to the teachers at every building in the Buffalo School District with a Kindergarten to Grade Four enrollment.

Mary Jean was an integral member of the Western New York team that developed and trial tested alternative assessment tasks which were assembled into a "Collection of Alternative Assessment Tasks in Science for Grade 4. This volume was published by UB and SED in 1996 as a resource for teachers and students in preparation for the performance assessment tasks that were part of the state's Grade Four science test. This Collection is still being used by teachers and college instructors to illustrate the style and format of performance assessment in science.

Mary Jean became a leader in the Western Section of STANYS, championing the teaching of science at the elementary school level. She served the section as SAR for Elementary, the Newsletter Editor, and for six years, was the Chair. Mary Jean established our Teacher of the Year awards for the elementary and middle years, a Mini Conference in the spring of the year, and a Winter Social, all of which continue to this day. Based on her work as a SAR for Elementary, she was asked to be a candidate for the DAL position for Elementary. In her DAL Elementary role, Mary Jean increased the number of sessions for elementary teachers at the annual conference, secured stable support for the Elementary Social, and continued her campaign to recognize Elementary School Science as the critical foundation for the science programs at the Middle and High School levels.

At the Western Section level, Mary Jean was a tireless recruiter of new teachers, from the Buffalo and suburban schools, to get involved with STANYS. Many of the current Western Board members were recruited by Mary Jean to be leaders in our section. It was very hard to say NO when Mary Jean asked you to serve, as she already was herself serving teachers in so many ways.

Mary Jean once said "But I am not a Science Teacher, I am not certified in a science field. I am an English teacher who also teaches some science classes". This humble response led Doug Reynolds and Rod Doran to coin the phrase "Teacher of Science". This label seems a significant way to equalize the value and contributions of those who teach science to students from Kindergarten through the Graduate School level. Mary Jean, thanks for the impetus for this very meaningful description of so many wonderful teachers who provide the early experiences in the sciences for students at the elementary level

Written by Rodney Doran with minor alteration by the Web Editor.

The full citationwas published in the 2010 Conference Program.

STANYS Fellow 2010: Dr. Bruce Tulloch

If science educators were ranked as hurricanes, then Dr. Bruce Tulloch would be a category 5, science educator. His impact has been felt in every aspect of science education.

Dr. Tulloch began his esteemed science education career after graduating Cornell University with a BS in science education. A few years later, Dr. Tulloch completed a MS in Advanced Classroom Teaching and his Ed.D at the University at Albany. Certified in Earth Science, biology and chemistry, Dr. Tulloch first taught at Perth Central Schools, then Schalmont Central Schools and the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights. It was at the latter that Dr Tulloch began his career as a school district administrator, first as director of the Upper School and then its department chair.

In 1987, Dr. Tulloch took a turn his career by becoming an Associate in Science Education at the New York State Education Department. Undoubtedly, he saw this position as an opportunity to have substantial impact on the direction of science education in NYS, and so he did. His great knowledge and caring ways made certain that the biology examinations, for example, were of the highest quality and fair to students. Through Eisenhower Grant money, Dr. Tulloch created the biology mentor network that provided much needed professional development to biology teachers as the State transformed to the MST Standards. In fact, Dr. Tulloch began all of the mentor networks in New York State. As the core documents were being written, Dr. Tulloch stressed the importance of "less is more", and to use the National Standards for Science Education as the model from which to write the Core documents.

In 1993, Dr Tulloch became district science coordinator for Bethlehem Central School District. While in that position, he supported the school's excellent science research program and innovative Lab School. During this time, he also became president of STANYS, and with the help of Nancy Ridenour, ensured that STANYS became the lead organization in NYS for BaP (Building a Presence).

As president of STANYS, Dr. Tulloch was very concerned about the direction of science education as we moved from a curriculum-based testing system to a standards-based one, and the many other demands of NCLB legislation. He felt it was imperative that the expertise of science education organizations be heard by SED. He addressed this issue by creating the New York State Science Education Consortium, an organization of most of the professional science education institutions in New York State. A committee of representatives from these institutions participated in annual summits with SED, which Dr. Tulloch facilitated. Many recommendations from these summits have impacted SED, such as the hiring of more discipline experts and the formation of a K-16 Advisory Committee. In addition to the Consortium, he formed the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) that met with SED on a regular basis to help the State transform into Standard-based education. Though this committee and the Consortium were not always in agreement with SED, Dr. Tulloch worked hard to have our recommendations implemented.

In 2008, Dr. Tulloch's career as a science educator took another turn. He is now Associate Dean of Union Graduate College in Schenectady, NY. A teacher colleague at praises "Bruce's vast knowledge of educational policy, state standards, and the needs of learners has made him a valuable addition to the Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program". In this new position, Dr. Tulloch saw an opportunity to have an impact on future science teachers. He is now developing a graduate level history and philosophy of science course. The goal is to provide science teachers with a firm understanding of the nature of science and philosophy of science, in addition to instructional strategies that promote learning.

Now you know why Dr Tulloch is a category 5, science educator and it is very likely that a new category 6 will have to be initiated as long as the powerhouse of a science educator continues his professional journey.

Written by Joan Wagner with minor alteration by the Web Editor.

The full citation was published in the 2010 Conference Program.

STANYS Fellow 2009: Dr. Michael Passow

Dr. Michael J. Passow is receiving this Fellows Award in his 40th year in the classroom, and plans to keep going for another decade.  He has taught middle school, high school, undergrad, and graduate programs in public and private institutions. For 22 years, he taught Earth Science at White Plains Middle School.  Three years ago, he “retired” in New York State, giving up a two-hour, sixty-mile commute each day through the Tappan Zee Bridge corridor for the opportunity to walk 4 minutes and 43 seconds from his backdoor to teach his neighbors’ children in Englewood, NJ.

Mike served as 2002 – 2003 STANYS President, during which time several innovations were introduced for how the annual conference was organized. One of the nicest was holding the President’s Reception in Suite 999 at the top of the Nevele Tower, thereby raising the standards of hospitality to levels rarely reached previously. After his presidency ended, Mike added an interesting twist to the conference sessions—Eco-trail rides through the woods surrounding the Nevele.
Mike has provided leadership in Science Education over the last decades in many other organizations. He is the current President of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, and twice served as President of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers-Eastern Section.  He originated the Westchester Conferences on Science, Math, and Technology Education, held for over a decade at SUNY Purchase. Mike is one of the most active contributors to the ESPRIT list-serve. Mike has published more than a hundred articles in STANYS and other science education journals, and made at least as many workshop presentations at STANYS and other conferences.

Always interested in sharing cutting-edge science, Mike also created the Earth2Class Workshops for Teachers” at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. These bring together research scientists and classroom teachers for Saturday morning discussions about exciting research discoveries. Next month will mark the 100th E2C Workshop. The E2C website allows teachers and students who cannot get to Palisades NY early on a Saturday to access archived versions of these talks, as well as many other useful resources. Mike has also leads American Meteorological Society DataStreme courses that have enhanced subject knowledge for hundreds of teachers. He takes very seriously the award he received from the American Chemistry Council in 2001: National Catalyst Teacher.

Outside the classroom, while at White Plains Middle School, Mike and one of the music teachers originated the student-faculty musical program. For fourteen years, they directed and, on occasion, starred in full-scale Broadway musicals. There are people who still recall Mike's rendition of "Put on a Happy Face" from "Bye, Bye Birdie", although not necessarily with any sense of admiration. Many of Mike’s students have continued into careers related to the sciences, including many who became doctors and would very much like to practice on Mike. Only the knowledge that others of his students have become tort lawyers and Mike’s general good health has stopped them. His real hope, though, is that all of his students have left his class with the knowledge and skills to continue scientific literacy for a lifetime.
For many years, Mike ended the school year by driving to the Adirondacks and climbing one of the 46 High peaks. He “bagged” 30 before discovering his current love for whatever spare time is available:  kayaking! If you are ever on the Tappan Zee or West Side Highway and see a blue kayak with a bearded paddler wearing a white hat, give Mike a shout! 

Written by Michael Hanophy

The full citation was published in the 2009 Conference Program.