Gladis Kersaint

Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Mathematics Education

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Titles:

Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives, University of Connecticut
Dean Emerita, Neag School of Education
Professor of Mathematics Education

Academic Degrees:

Ph.D., Mathematics Education, Illinois State University
MS, Education (Mathematics), University of Miami
BS, Mathematics, University of Miami

Biography:

Dr. Gladis Kersaint is the vice provost of strategic initiatives at the University of Connecticut. Most recently, she served as dean of UConn’s Neag School of Education from 2016 to 2021. She is also professor of mathematics education at the Neag School. Under her leadership as dean, the Neag School made significant strides in many areas, including maintaining its rank as a top 20 public graduate school of education for five consecutive years; raising more than $10 million in gifts to support student scholarships and programs; diversifying the School’s faculty, staff, and students; and advancing public engagement efforts with the Alliance School Districts, the 33 highest-need, most diverse school districts in Connecticut.

Prior to that, Kersaint was the associate dean of academic affairs and research for the College of Education at the University of South Florida (USF) since 2011. There, she had also been a professor of mathematics education since 1998, the director of the David C. Anchin Center, and the David C. Anchin Endowed Chair in Education Innovation. The Center promotes alliances and leverages resources to facilitate partnership efforts that support innovation and the advancement of teaching. From 2006 to 2010, she served as coordinator of USF Undergraduate Education and chair of the General Education Council, a role with university-wide reach.

Kersaint is a well-respected scholar in mathematics education with an extensive publication and national service record. She has published four books and numerous refereed journal articles related to factors that influence mathematics teacher education and effective mathematics teaching, the mathematical teaching and learning of at-risk students, and the use of technology in teaching and learning mathematics. During her tenure at USF, she served as the principal or co-principal investigator of approximately $30 million of National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and Florida Department of Education grants.

She has led a number of collaborative STEM education projects involving school district personnel as well as university faculty in the arts and sciences and in engineering. She has also provided service at the national level, including having served as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the largest professional organization for mathematics educators, and the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. She currently serves on the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)’s Board of Directors.

Prior to her time in academia, Kersaint taught high school mathematics for the Miami Dade County Public Schools, the fourth-largest public school district in the nation.

Kersaint graduated from the University of Miami with a BS and MS in mathematics. She earned her Ph.D. in mathematics education from Illinois State University.

Selected Publications/Presentations:

Ellerbrock, C. R., Kersaint, G., Smith, J. J., & Kaskeski, R. (2016).Transforming teacher preparation for the transition years: A partnership-based STEM residency program. In P. B. Howell, J. Carpenter, & J. Jones (Eds.), Clinical Preparation at the Middle Level: Practices and Possibilities (2^nd Volume of the Handbook of Resources in Middle Level Education). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Thompson, D. R., Kersaint, G., Vorster, H., Webb, L., Van der Walt, M., S. (2016). Addressing Multilanguage diversity in mathematics teacher education programs. In R. Barwell, P. Clarkson, A. Halai, M. Kazima, Moschkovich, N. Planas, M. Setati-Phakeng, P. Valero, & M. V. Ubilus (Eds.),  Mathematics Education and Language Diversity: The 21^st ICMI Study (pp. 121-139). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing

Lee, H. S., Kersaint, G., Driskell, S., Harper, S. Jones, D., Leatham, K., Angotti, R., & Adu-Gamfi, K. (2014). Teachers’ use of transnumeration in solving statistical task with dynamic statistical software.  Statistics Education Research Journal, 13(1), 25-52.

Kersaint, G., Thompson, D. R., Petkova, M. (2013). Teaching Mathematics to English Language Learners (2^ndedition). New York: Rutledge.

Kersaint, G., Ritzhaupt, A., & Liu, Feng (2013). Technology to enhance mathematics and science instruction: Changes in teacher perceptions after participating in a yearlong professional development program.  Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 33(1), 537-566.

Kersaint, G., & Berger, S. (2012). Negotiating a new culture: A large-scale collaboration among mathematicians, mathematics teacher educators, and teachers. In Jenny B. Williams (Ed.), Professional collaboration in mathematics teaching and learning: Seeking success for all. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Kersaint, G., Dogbey, J. , Barber, J. & Kephart, D. (2011). The effect of access to an online tutorial service on College Algebra student outcomes, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 19(1), 25–44.

Thompson, D. T., Kersaint, G., Richards, J. C., Hunsader, P. D., Rubenstein, R. R. (2008). Mathematical Literacy: Helping Students make meaning in the middle grades. Hienemann, Portsmouth, NH.

Kersaint, G., Lewis, J., Potter, R., & Meisels, G. (2007). Why teachers leave: Factors that influence retention or resignation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(6), 775-794.

Kersaint, G. (2007). The learning environment: Its influence on what is learned. In W. Gary Martin & Marilyn E. Strutchens (Eds.), The Learning of mathematics, (The 69^th Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) (pp. 83-96) Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Borman, K, Kersaint, G., et al.  (2005) Meaningful urban education reform: Confronting the learning crisis in mathematics and science.  State University of New York Press.

Associations/Committees/Outreach:

Board member, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), 2012-2015

Board member, Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), 2008-2011

President, Florida Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, 2002-2004, 2004-2006

Conference Chair for NCTM (2012 Conference)and AMTE (2006 Conference)

Referee for several mathematics education journals

Selected Committee Memberships at USF:

• Mobilizing the Dream Workgroup: Faculty and Administrator Diversity, Spring 2016
• USF System Research Planning Committee
• USF Research Advisory Group
• Chair, General Education Council
• University Assessment Steering Committee