William F. Tate, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences, has been named an Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, announced Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences.
A formal installation ceremony will be held in the fall.
Tate’s work focuses on mathematics, science and technology education, specifically in the urban setting. He serves as the principal investigator and project director for the St. Louis Center for Inquiry in Science Teaching and Learning (CISTL), one of 10 such National Science Foundation-funded centers in the United States. CISTL aims to develop an ongoing capacity to produce and diversify science-education leaders, researchers and practitioners who apply research with practice to improve science teaching and learning.
A second line of Tate’s professional research focuses on the nexus of urban studies, race and legal thought and American education.
He is known across campus as one of the most enthusiastic supporters of interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration.
Tate has been published widely in scores of journal articles and scholarly book chapters. The U.S. Department of Education sponsored research that resulted in Tate’s monograph Access and Opportunities to Learn Are Not Accidents: Engineering Mathematical Progress in Your School.
He is co-editor of Changing the Faces of Mathematics: Perspectives on African Americans, and has a forthcoming book titled Ol’ Man River: The River Cities and the Making of America. Insights into this project are being offered as part of the freshman seminar series in the fall.
Tate is a frequently sought adviser to universities and local school districts, offering technical assistance involving scientific education in urban areas as diverse as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Houston, Orlando, Fla., and Washington, D.C.
He is program chair for the spring 2006 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting.
His service to this organization, which is dedicated to advancing scholarly research and its practical application, spans his entire professional career and several areas of leadership, including serving as co-editor of the American Educational Research Journal.
Besides AERA, Tate is involved with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and The National Research Council.
Numerous institutions and organizations have recognized Tate’s excellence in the classroom and in research.
The University of Maryland presented him the Outstanding Scholar Award in Education and he received an Early Career Award and Outstanding Scholar Award from AERA.
Tate earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northern Illinois University; a master’s in mathematical sciences education from the University of Texas at Dallas; and a doctorate with a focus in mathematics education from the University of Maryland.
He previously served on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin and Texas Christian University, where he was the William and Betty Adams Chair of Mathematics Education and Mathematics.
His professional experience includes working in the Dallas Public School System as scholar-in-residence and assistant superintendent of mathematics and science.
He joined the faculty of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in 2002 as professor and chair of the Department of Education, with a joint appointment in the American Culture Studies Program and an affiliation with the Applied Statistics and Computation Program, serving on the executive committee of both.
Tate also is a participating faculty member in the Audiology and Communication Sciences program in the School of Medicine.
The Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorships honor Edward Mallinckrodt and his son, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr., both successful chemists, able businessmen and generous philanthropists supporting higher education.
Both Mallinckrodts served on the University’s Board of Trustees.
Numerous buildings and professorships at Washington University and Harvard University pay tribute to the Mallinckrodt legacy.
The two other Mallinckrodt professorships in Arts & Sciences are held by Lee Epstein, Ph.D., professor of political science, and Murray L. Weidenbaum, Ph.D., professor of economics and the honorary chair of the Weiden-baum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.