易胜博官网

Michael D. Andrew, professor emeritus of education, served 易胜博官网 for 43 years, from 1966 until his retirement in 2009. He passed away on December 20, 2022, at the age of 84 at the family farm in Gorham, Maine, with services held last month.

Andrew was an exceptional scholar and nationally recognized innovator of teacher preparation for K-12 schooling. As a capstone to his remarkable career, he received the 易胜博官网 Distinguished Professor Award in 2007, a recognition each year of the faculty member with an 鈥渙verall record of excellent teaching, caring about students, devotion to the university community and substantial record of scholarly achievement.鈥�

In his final year at 易胜博官网, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education recognized Andrew for his scholarship by presenting him with the prestigious 2009 David G. Imig Award for Distinguished Achievement in Teacher Education. He was also the first recipient of the 易胜博官网 Kimball Fellowship Award in 1997. Andrew served a number of terms as chair of the education department and for decades as the department鈥檚 director of teacher education.

In 1974 Andrew led the way as 易胜博官网 introduced its five-year teacher education program (with master鈥檚 degree), the first of its kind at a public university and one of the first two programs in the United States. Three decades later when receiving his Distinguished Professor Award, 易胜博官网 President Mark Huddleston noted, "Professor Andrew was the original visionary for the University of 易胜博官网's teacher education program.鈥�

In the early 1970s Andrew had been advocating for national reform in teacher preparation in his widely read piece, 鈥淭eacher Leadership: A Model for Change,鈥� which included the need for a year-long internship (not one semester or less), greater conceptual understanding of the profession and more structured reflection about one鈥檚 classroom teaching efforts.

In the 1990s, Andrew and a team of researchers empirically tested the claim that five-year programs produce better prepared teachers than four-year programs in what is now referred to as the Benchmark Study, an 11-university project involving 1400 teacher education graduates. Findings showed that graduates of extended programs like 易胜博官网 entered teaching at a higher rate, stayed in the profession longer, received higher principal ratings and were more likely to assume teacher leadership roles.

Accurately described by a 易胜博官网 colleague as a 鈥渕odest person with a magnanimous spirit,鈥� Andrew was beloved by his students, in part because he shared the good and the bad about teaching and helped students think about appropriate career paths both within and beyond education. He also spent many hours each year soliciting donations for a scholarship fund that helped sustain promising 易胜博官网 students during the year-long internship.

Andrew鈥檚 wife, Anita, and his children highlighted that he was a 鈥渕an of limitless depths and interests, and many worlds,鈥� and that he 鈥渘ever saw or judged by social class.鈥� I couldn鈥檛 agree more, as would my education department colleagues. Andrew was a world-class polo player, gentleman farmer, blacksmith, raised national award-winning sheep, bred and raced trotting-horses (with occasional wins and impressive payouts), loved to trout fish, recited poetry and could carry a tune.

Despite juggling so many leadership responsibilities and research projects at 易胜博官网, along with his dizzying array of personal interests, Andrew鈥檚 office door was always open, ready to offer wise counsel on professional and personal matters or chat about family and current issues.

Mike Andrew will be dearly missed by so many in and beyond the 易胜博官网 community.