SXU's Jaclyn Murawska elected president of Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics for 2017
Saint Xavier University's (SXU) Department of Mathematics Assistant Professor Jaclyn Murawska, Ed.D., was recently appointed to serve as president-elect of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM), the premier organization of mathematics educators in Illinois. Her appointment comes after showcasing her strong dedication and service to ICTM. Prof. Murawska's term as president-elect will continue until 2017, and her two-year term as president will officially begin in October 2017.
Prof. Murawska first got involved with the organization when she attended the annual conference in 1991 as a first-year teacher, where she initially grew to appreciate ICTM.
"I was hooked and absolutely loved learning new activities that I could immediately bring back to my classroom, and the positive energy that results from sharing ideas with other enthusiastic mathematics teachers. I wanted to get involved with ICTM with the hope to encourage many more teachers to attend the ICTM conferences, share ideas and thus continue to improve their practice," said Murawska as she reminisced on attending her first conference.
Prior to her new appointment, Prof. Murawska served as board Chair since October 2015, where she presided over the regular meetings of the ICTM board of directors, prepared the agendas and coordinated all internal correspondence between board members. She's currently serving her third year in a three-year term as director-at-large, which she started in 2013. From 2013 until 2015, her role on the board was to serve as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Liaison.
In addition to her work on the Board of Directors, Prof. Murawska works as an article reviewer for ICTM's journal, Illinois Mathematics Teacher, which she has been involved in since 2003. She has also frequently been a speaker a many ICTM state conferences and most recently, volunteered at an ICTM Regional Contest site to help facilitate the scoring of the mathematics contest exams.
"Being involved in ICTM over the years has directly impacted the work I do here at Saint Xavier," said Murawska. "Not only because it has informed my own instruction at SXU, but it keeps me current on new developments in the field. And in Illinois, this is especially important in light of all the recent changes in licensure structure and teacher preparation mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), as well as new initiatives such as Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) and its related tests (PARCC). This knowledge, in turn, has helped me navigate these changes so that I can not only advise my SXU teacher candidates accordingly, but also be certain that the content and pedagogy in my methods classes align with current K-12 Illinois learning standards."
Through her many roles, her fellow ICTM members and colleagues have recognized her hard work ethic and passion for the mathematics field. Prof. Murawska was nominated for her new presidential appointment and was required to submit a short bio and candidate statement, which included her past leadership experience in mathematics education, her thoughts on ICTM's potential role in Illinois and her proposed contributions to ICTM if elected. Her materials were then reviewed by the ICTM nominations committee, which is comprised of Board members and non-Board members from different regions of the state. The information was posted online and ballots were casted through online voting throughout the month of April.
As president of ICTM, Prof. Murawska will serve as the official representative of ICTM, ensuring that the vision of the organization is carried out through the work of the Council. Additionally, she will be responsible for all external correspondence, and maintain the organization's support of Illinois mathematics teachers by continuing to be a reliable place to share resources.
"ICTM is a perfect venue for university faculty members, like myself, to share our expertise and enthusiasm for teaching and learning mathematics through conference presentations and workshops for mathematics educators," said Murawska. "It's our way to give back to the mathematics education community!"
In her new appointment, Prof. Murawska hopes to continue perfecting her skill set while also working to enhance her role at SXU. As president, she looks forward to the opportunity to stay up-to-date on the state and national mathematics educational trends. In turn, she anticipates this information will help enhance her work at SXU in regards to departmental, programmatic and institutional decisions, as well as mathematics course content and pedagogical decisions.
"I am truly honored to have been elected by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) membership to serve as the next president of ICTM, and I look forward to making positive contributions to mathematics education in the state of Illinois," said Murawska.