Why KU's Plan To Cut Its STEM Teaching Center Has Students And Alumni Upset
LAWRENCE, Kansas — Faculty, students and alumni are pleading with the University of Kansas not to ax a teacher-training center slated to become the next victim of major budget cuts — or at least to extend its life a few more semesters.
KU announced earlier this month that the Center for STEM Learning will close in June. Students say they were blindsided, and that KU’s promise to create a more cost-effective path for math and science teachers doesn’t satisfy them.
“To us, this is telling the students that KU doesn’t appreciate STEM education,” said Hannah Bullington, a geology major and aspiring science teacher, “As a No. 1 research university, shouldn’t STEM be the forefront of our mission?”
For at least the past few years, Kansas middle and high schools have come up dozens of teachers short for math and science classrooms. KU has been among the state’s top schools to graduate new math and science teachers, but its numbers have slid.
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