News Article
Standards Group Target Professors
Standards organisation ASTM International launches “Year of the Professor” campaign for 2009
ASTM International, one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world, will launch the “Year of the Professor” campaign in 2009. This multi-faceted academic outreach initiative will be aimed at promoting the value of standards education at colleges and universities worldwide and will encourage participation and understanding of industry standards at an early stage.
The Year of the Professor campaign expands upon ASTM International's highly successful “Year of the Student” initiative in 2007. That program brought a 40 percent increase in ASTM student membership and saw the number of colleges and universities that access ASTM standards increase to more than 1,000. Currently, individuals from 75 different countries hold student membership in ASTM International.
Highlighting the ASTM Year of the Professor initiative will be:
The ASTM International Professor of the Year Award, rewarding a university-level educator for exemplary use of standards in their curriculum or classroom setting;
College and university campus visits and training sessions by ASTM members and staff;
Online educational resources at ASTM Campus, a focused area of the ASTM Web site for professors and students;
Access to affordable ASTM academic-oriented products, enabling professors to integrate ASTM standards into their course materials; and
Ongoing ASTM International student membership opportunities.
ASTM International President James A. Thomas commented, “Today's college students are the world's future technical experts and leaders in their fields. Enhancing their classroom learning with a real-world curriculum in standards will give then a learning foundation they can draw upon throughout their entire career. ASTM International is committed to supporting college and university educators in their efforts to build students' knowledge and awareness of the critical discipline of standardization.”
Dr. Vicki L. Brown, associate professor and chair of the civil engineering department at Widener University, added, “Engineering students, in particular, should learn about standards while still in school so that, as practicing professionals, they are prepared to appropriately apply those standards in their everyday technical evaluations and decision making. ASTM's Year of the Professor program will provide engineering educators with welcome resources for teaching students about standardization.”
A special emphasis of the Year of the Professor initiative will be on the role of educators in developing student knowledge and involvement in standardization. Underscoring this important aspect of the campaign will be the new ASTM International Professor of the Year Award. Candidates for the award will include professors and instructors at accredited universities worldwide who have demonstrated outstanding use of ASTM standards in their teaching. Cash awards will be given to the winning educator and their respective university.
The Year of the Professor campaign expands upon ASTM International's highly successful “Year of the Student” initiative in 2007. That program brought a 40 percent increase in ASTM student membership and saw the number of colleges and universities that access ASTM standards increase to more than 1,000. Currently, individuals from 75 different countries hold student membership in ASTM International.
Highlighting the ASTM Year of the Professor initiative will be:
The ASTM International Professor of the Year Award, rewarding a university-level educator for exemplary use of standards in their curriculum or classroom setting;
College and university campus visits and training sessions by ASTM members and staff;
Online educational resources at ASTM Campus, a focused area of the ASTM Web site for professors and students;
Access to affordable ASTM academic-oriented products, enabling professors to integrate ASTM standards into their course materials; and
Ongoing ASTM International student membership opportunities.
ASTM International President James A. Thomas commented, “Today's college students are the world's future technical experts and leaders in their fields. Enhancing their classroom learning with a real-world curriculum in standards will give then a learning foundation they can draw upon throughout their entire career. ASTM International is committed to supporting college and university educators in their efforts to build students' knowledge and awareness of the critical discipline of standardization.”
Dr. Vicki L. Brown, associate professor and chair of the civil engineering department at Widener University, added, “Engineering students, in particular, should learn about standards while still in school so that, as practicing professionals, they are prepared to appropriately apply those standards in their everyday technical evaluations and decision making. ASTM's Year of the Professor program will provide engineering educators with welcome resources for teaching students about standardization.”
A special emphasis of the Year of the Professor initiative will be on the role of educators in developing student knowledge and involvement in standardization. Underscoring this important aspect of the campaign will be the new ASTM International Professor of the Year Award. Candidates for the award will include professors and instructors at accredited universities worldwide who have demonstrated outstanding use of ASTM standards in their teaching. Cash awards will be given to the winning educator and their respective university.
