The Unorthodox Professor

Book excerpt: The book is an autoethnography (self-analysis) of a woman’s career as an educator that spans half a century. Her stories as a visionary change agent in STEM education provide •an unorthodox approach to surviving and thriving in academia. By candidly “telling tales out-of-school” about events common in higher education – but not openly talked about – these stories and 149 lessons learned can be a roadmap for both seasoned and early career faculty; •a guide to sources of joy and satisfaction – career rewards;◦insight to attaining grants from public and private sources to develop programs for diverse learners and for community engagement; ◦a federal grant funding program officer’s use of a systemic approach to infuse marine education nationally; ◦adventures of an out-of-the-box high school biology teacher as a template for use of the community as a resource for teaching K-12; ◦use of program and course development for learners of all ages in formal and informal settings as a mechanism for change. Social issues emerging during this study that are relevant to the next generation of educators include a woman's role in society, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment; shifting paradigms, school reform, resistance to change, and educational funding; environmental degradation and climate change.