Dr. Mitchell Nathan is named the Director of the Center on Education and Work

UW-Madison Center on Education and Work

November 18, 2011

Mitchell Nathan is professor of educational psychology at UW-Madison, a position he will continue to hold while serving as CEW director. He is a nationally renowned scholar of the learning sciences, with particular expertise in research on mathematics teaching and learning. A former engineer, he has directed a major study of Project Lead the Way, an innovative engineering curriculum for secondary schools. He has been an affiliate of CEW since 2007 and has directed numerous research and training activities. Currently he is a co-principal investigator for the National Center for Cognition and Mathematics Instruction and principal investigator for a postdoctoral training program in mathematics thinking, teaching, and learning, both funded by the U.S. Department’s Institute of Education Sciences. Additional current studies are funded by the National Science Foundation.

The Center for Education and Work carries out research, evaluation, technical assistance, and career development activities with partners in the state of Wisconsin, throughout the nation, and in the international arena. Among its most visible contributions are Wisconsin Careers, a career development product used by school districts throughout the state, and the annual Careers Conference, a premier national event in the field of career development and education for work.

Professor Nathan is the third director in CEW's 45-year history. He succeeds L. Allen Phelps, who retired as Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and director of CEW in June 2011. Following his retirement from the faculty, Professor Phelps has returned to active scholarship. He is currently leading a study funded by the National Science Foundation to study the educational pathways and outcomes of students pursuing manufacturing engineering technologist and technician education programs in Wisconsin's technical college system.