Pitt LRDC Fellow Receives American Association of University Women Gateway to Equity Award

PITTSBURGH-Idorenyin Jamar, a fellow in the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center's (LRDC) Institute for Learning, received the Gateway to Equity Award from the Pittsburgh branch of The American Association of University Women (AAUW) at a Feb. 27 reception held in her honor and in recognition of National Women's Day, to be held March 8.

Organizations around the world are holding events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Founding of the Commission on the Status of Women, according to Winifred Carr, president of AAUW's Pittsburgh branch, who said the Gateway award was given as an introduction to the national celebration.

Carr also noted that Jamar embodies the qualities that AAUW embraces, including fostering diversity, international understanding and outreach, academic programs in Africa and other developing countries, women's educational opportunities worldwide, generations acting together, and all religious creeds living in peace and harmony.

Jamar recently completed a two-year assignment at George Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh as the coordinator of the Science and Mathematics Academy, teaching mathematics to ninth and 12th graders. She is a member of LRDC's Disciplinary Literacy Mathematics Team and also serves as site manager for the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, a joint project involving Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University.

Previously, Jamar was an assistant professor of mathematics education at Pitt and an associate professor of mathematics education at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria. Also, as a postdoctoral fellow in LRDC, Jamar was responsible for evaluating the Math Cube project, an innovative elementary mathematics curriculum.

Jamar's research and social interests focus on improving the educational outcomes for students in urban schools, specifically in mathematics. Early in her career, she taught in a community-based setting whose goal was to help prepare adult learners returning to a formal educational setting.

Jamar has served on the board of the Pittsburgh Council on Public Education and was an officer of the Benjamin Banneker Association, a National Council of Teachers of Mathematics affiliate.

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