Governor's Office Press Release - Romney Names Anderson Chair of Ed. Board
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 20, 2006
CONTACT:
Eric Fehrnstrom
Felix Browne
(617) 725-4025
ROMNEY NAMES TWO NEW MEMBERS TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Designates Christopher Anderson to serve as board chair
Governor Mitt Romney today appointed Thomas Fortmann and Sandra Stotsky to serve five-year terms on the state Board of Education, the nine-member panel that sets policy for K-12 education in Massachusetts. The new appointees replace James Peyser and Abigail Thernstrom, whose terms had expired. The Governor named current Board of Education member Christopher Anderson to serve as board chair.
“Tom Fortmann and Sandra Stotsky each bring a lifetime of educational experience to the Board of Education,” said Romney. “They will insist on high standards, preserve the choice offered by charter schools and make sure that the needs of children always come first in the decisions we make regarding education policy.”
Fortmann, of Lexington, has diverse experience in public education and private enterprise. He earned his undergraduate degree in Physics from Stanford University and a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fortmann began his career as a lecturer at the University of Newcastle in Australia and later spent more than 20 years with the Cambridge technology firm BBN Technologies. In 1997, he retired as a senior vice president in charge of more than 100 engineers working on a range of applications, including educational technology.
A longtime math and science volunteer teacher in Massachusetts schools, Fortmann is the founder of the Massachusetts Mathematics Institute, a professional development program that helps K-6 teachers learn the mathematics they need to teach effectively.
“Our challenge in today’s competitive, global economy is to raise our students’ achievement - especially in science, engineering, and mathematics - to the level of their international peers,” said Fortmann. “Massachusetts must create a world-class K-12 education system to meet this challenge, and I’m grateful to Governor Romney for this opportunity to contribute to the effort.”
Stotsky, of Brookline, is an education professional with extensive experience in teaching and research. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she holds a doctorate in Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Since 1977, Stotsky has held teaching or research positions at Curry College, Harvard Summer School, the Boston University School of Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The author of dozens of scholarly articles on education, Stotsky was a senior associate commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Education from 1999 to 2003. She is currently a research scholar at Northeastern University, a position she has held since 2004.
Romney praised Anderson for agreeing to chair the board and called him “keenly aware of the important links that exist between educational success and economic competitiveness.”
Anderson, of Westford, is president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, an industry group that works to make Massachusetts more competitive for high technology employers. As Council president, he has articulated the need for public schools to produce skilled workers that technology employers need for future growth. Anderson is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and holds a law degree from Suffolk University School of Law.
“I appreciate this opportunity from Governor Romney and look forward to building on his leadership in striving for meaningful standards, innovative educational choices and enhanced math and science instruction for all Massachusetts students,” said Anderson. “The world is changing and our state’s education system must do the same - for the sake of all our teachers and students - if we are to improve our competitive edge in the global technology economy.”
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