Dr. Sam Minner
Dr. James McLean
Dr. Mark Musick
Dr. Aimee Govett
The James H. Quillen Chair of Excellence in Education is an endowed chair in the Clemmer College established specifically to address issues related to teaching, its relationship to learning, innovative practice and problem solving. The Quillen Chair, established in 1994, honors former First District Congressman James H. Quillen, who represented Northeast Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives for well over 30 years.
The holder of the chair is responsible for assisting the administration and faculty of Clemmer College in building on its reputation as the principal provider of education and related service professionals in East Tennessee. The administration of the Clemmer College has identified STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education as an area of focus to be addressed through the Quillen Chair of Excellence in Education. The chair holder actively participates in the life of the campus by teaching one or two classes per semester, engaging in a progressive program of scholarship (particularly scholarship directed at the unique needs of our region), faculty mentoring, and grant-seeking activities.
The first chairholder was Dr. Wayne Worner who occupied the position for one year to assist the Clemmer College in better describing the position based on the current needs of the College. From this information the College hired the second holder of the Quillen Chair of Excellence, Dr. Sam Minner. Dr. Minner was in the position for three years and assisted the College in collaborating with the school districts and obtaining over $200,000 in grants.
Chairholder Dr. James McLean (2000 - 2005) came to ETSU with 32 years of teaching experience and 22 years of administrative experience. He had directed, co-directed or administered more than 100 research, assessment and evaluation projects funded in excess of $5 million. Before joining the university faculty, McLean was research professor and founding director of the Center for Educational Accountability in the School of Education at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Chairholder Dr. Mark D. Musick (2006-2014) joined ETSU from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) where he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Board and continues as President Emeritus. As chairholder, he brought the memberships, contacts, experience and knowledge gained from many years of service with regional and national organizations that helped facilitate linkages between these boards and university initiatives, as well as bring regional and national attention to the university's aggressive P-16 agenda and commitment to education at all levels.
Chairholder Dr. Aimee Lee Govett (2014-2020) is a professor of science education in the Center of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Education at East Tennessee State University. As a scholar, Dr. Govett has focused on the development of new ways to introduce and teach science to elementary, middle level and secondary students and their teachers. She has been co-principal investigator on five major National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and principal investigator on two Tennessee Higher Education Commission proposals in the last five years that total over $5 million dollars in funding. Dr. Govett has four refereed publications in national journals and one book chapter. She has given numerous international, national, and regional presentations at major conferences.
Thus, the goal and mission of the James H. Quillen Chair of Excellence in S.T.E.M. Education is to form partnerships between education faculty and other math and science faculty at ETSU and the K-12 community. Working closely with The ETSU Center of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Education, we can support the advancement of S.T.E.M. education, K-16, through direct services, technical assistance, partnerships, research, leadership institutes/ workshops, and as an information conduit providing standards-based resources to schools, districts, teachers, and community members.