Strutchens and Kaminsky earn endowed professorships
October 2009
One works in a structured world defined by numbers, while the other works in a field of applied philosophy.
In spite of the topical differences between mathematics and educational philosophy, however, Drs. Marilyn Strutchens and James Kaminsky have demonstrated their talent for solving problems and improving practices in their respective academic fields.
Both College of Education faculty members are 2009 recipients of the Mildred Cheshire Fraley Distinguished Professorship. Strutchens and Kaminsky will be honored by the college during a January 21 ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Auburn Alumni Center. Their terms began this month.
Since their creation, the College of Education's four endowed professorships have honored 23 faculty - 16 of whom still remain members today.
Strutchens, a professor of mathematics education and Mathematics Education program coordinator for the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, joined the College of Education faculty in 2000. Her work as co-director of Transforming East Alabama Mathematics
 (TEAM-Math), a partnership involving Auburn University's College of Education and College of Science and Mathematics, along with Tuskegee University faculty and local educators, has been instrumental in improving math education in regional school districts. In the last year alone, TEAM-Math established a pair of Teacher Leader academies to build the professional knowledge of math educators in the region.
In 2008, Strutchens received the inaugural Distinguished Diversity Researcher Award from the Auburn University Research Initiative for the Study of Diversity and Auburn's Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. Her research focuses on factors that affect students' mathematics achievement, with particular attention to African-American students. She studies such factors as socioeconomic status, access to mathematics courses, teachers' beliefs about students, parental influence and students' expectations and beliefs.
Strutchens is active in a number of national organizations. She is the series editor for the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators' Second Monograph Series, 2007 - 2010, and editor for the 2011 Special Equity Issue of The Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. Furthermore, she served as a member of NCTM's Research Committee from 2006 - 2008 and served as its chair from 2007-2008, and is currently on the editorial panel for the 2011 NCTM yearbook. She is also known for her work in some of the NCTM's Interpretations of the Mathematics Assessment for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Monographs. Locally, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators of Alabama, and a member of the Alabama Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Before coming to Auburn, Strutchens served as an assistant professor at the University of Maryland and the University of Kentucky. She is a three-time graduate of the University of Georgia, earning a bachelor's degree in fashion merchandising and her master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics education.
Kaminsky, a professor of social foundations in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology, has been a member of the college's faculty since 1990. He was head of the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology from 1992 to 2001. Kaminsky was executive edutor of Education Philosophy and Theory.
His teaching interests include philosophy of education, history of ideas and American pragmatism. He is actively involved in the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society
, an organization of academicians from 10 different states who explore such topics as home and charter schools, social justice, teaching methods, qualitative research, teacher education and morality and civics in classroom settings. Kaminsky served as the society's president from 1994 to 1995.
Kaminsky, whose honors include Auburn University's Authors Cup and the 2005 SGA Outstanding College of Education Professor, has focused much of his research on the history of educational philosophy, post-modern theory in educational administration and neo-pragmatism in educational thought. A former faculty member and associate dean at the University of New England in Australia, Kaminsky has actively encouraged education students to take advantage of international learning opportunities.
After earning a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Minnesota, Kaminsky earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Michigan State University in social and philosophical foundations of education.
The Mildred Cheshire Fraley Distinguished Professorship was established in 2002 through an estate gift from Charles I. and Mildred Cheshire Fraley. In addition to establishing the professorship, Mrs. Fraley, a 1927 graduate of the College of Education, also laid the groundwork for a scholarship endowment and a fund for excellence. Mr. Fraley, a 1927 graduate in mechanical engineering, established similar funds for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Mr. and Mrs. Fraley resided in Virginia until they passed away in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
The Mildred Cheshire Fraley Distinguished Professorship was awarded for the first time in November 2003 to a pair of faculty members -- Drs. Glennelle Halpin and Marie Kraska of the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology. Halpin retired in 2009, while Kraska remains a member of the college's faculty.
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