Dr. William McConnell
Dr. Bill McConnell earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in science education in 2015. Currently he is the Director of Teacher Education, Chair of the Education Department, and Associate Professor of Education at Virginia Wesleyan University. While earning his Ph.D., he served as a research assistant on several NOAA, NSF, and foundation funded grant projects related to environmental science research and environmental education. Over the past six years at Virginia Wesleyan University, he has successfully implemented several grant-funded projects related to environmental education as well. Dr. McConnell served as the PI on a Dominion Foundation funded project entitled, Environmental Explorers. This successful project enacted a summer partnership with YMCA’s Camp Red Feather which provided authentic environmental science experiences for young participants. This program continues today and has provided hundreds of elementary aged campers exciting educational experiences. Campers continue to experience content knowledge gains, and increased awareness of environmentally sustainable behaviors. Dr. McConnell was also PI on the Virginia Wesleyan Environmental Institute: Summer Scholars, which recently won the 2020 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from Insight into Diversity Magazine. This foundation funded project was a weeklong, residential camp for rising ninth grade girls with an initial interest in environmental science. The free camp provided an academically intensive and engaging experience for girls whose families would not otherwise be able to afford such an experience. Program evaluations revealed several benefits for participants including but not limited to an expanded awareness of environmental science related jobs, increases in sciencerelated academic confidence, and an increased awareness of gender-related barriers common in science careers and ways to mitigate those barriers. This year the Virginia Association of Science Teachers selected Dr. McConnell as the 2020 recipient of the RISE Community Partnership Award. The few select examples are, but a small sample of what Dr. McConnell has accomplished when it comes to environmental education projects in the past six years. His past experiences developing, planning, and evaluating innovative environmentally related programs are evidence that he has the technical experience and qualifications to lead a project of this magnitude.
SharedWatersProject 