Congressional Testimony
February 11, 2010: House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
Strengthening undergraduate and graduate STEM education was the subject of a hearing held by the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research and Science Education on Thursday, February 11, 2010.
Karen Klomparens, Dean of the Graduate School at Michigan State University, presented testimony on the role of graduate education in preparing the highly skilled workforce needed for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global economy.
In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) noted, “At the graduate level, I want to examine how we are preparing future faculty to become good teachers, to hear suggestions on how we can improve the teaching of pedagogical skills and to hear whether we are giving students who pursue nonacademic career paths the skills they need to be successful. I am also interested in the balance between disciplinary and interdisciplinary education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.”
The role of graduate education as a lever for change in both the preparation of future faculty and future teachers was the subject of several questions and some discussion during the hearing.


