Kathy Harper2024 National Board of Directors Election Candidate for Four Year College Representative

Kathy Harper

Current Position
Associate Professor
Roger E. Susi First-Year Engineering Experience and Department of Physics,
Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106-7240
kathleen.harper@case.edu

Education

  • B.S., Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 1993
  • M.S., Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 1996
  • Ph. D., Physics, The Ohio State University, 2000

Professional Experience

  • Case Western Reserve University 2021-present
    Assistant then Associate Professor
    Assistant Director, Roger E. Susi First-Year Engineering Experience
  • The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 2010-2021
    Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer
  • Denison University, Granville, OH 2008-2010
    Visiting Assistant Professor
  • The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 2001 - 2008
    Dept. of Physics (2005-2008)
    --Senior Lecturer
    --Director, Undergraduate Physics Curriculum Development
    Faculty & TA Development (2002-2004)
    --Instructional Consultant
    Dept. of Physics (2001-2002)
    --Postdoctoral Researcher/Lecturer

Honors and Recognitions

  • 2023 Fundraising Leadership Award, Case School of Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
  • Autumn 2020 Buckeye Access All-Star Award, Office of Student Disability Services, The Ohio State University
  • 2019 Jane Jackson Award for Notable Service to Modeling Instruction, American Modeling Teachers Association
  • 2019 Associated Faculty Excellence in Professional Development Award, Department of Engineering Education, The Ohio State University
  • 2015 Homer L. Dodge Distinguished Service Citation, American Association of Physics Teachers
  • 2011 Outstanding Referee, American Physical Society
  • 2003 Bright Idea Award, Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education
  • 1999 Hazel Brown Teaching Award, Department of Physics, The Ohio State University
  • 1999 Boyer Award for Excellence in Instructional Innovation, College of Engineering, The Ohio State University
  • 1995 Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award, Case Western Reserve University
  • 1994 Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award, Case Western Reserve University
  • NSF Graduate Research Trainee Fellowship, The Ohio State University
  • Clare Booth Luce Fellowship, Case Western Reserve University

Memberships

  • American Association of Physics Teachers, 1994 – present (lifetime member)
  • Ohio Section, American Association of Physics Teachers, 1993-1996, 2022-present
  • Southern Ohio Section, American Association of Physics Teachers, 1996 - present (lifetime but non-voting member)
  • American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 – present

AAPT Activities

  • Co-chair, Local Engagement Task Force, 2023 – present
  • Task Force for development of Physics Teaching Standards, 2021
  • Teacher Preparation Committee, 2019-2022
  • Chair, Section Representative Nominating Committee, 2017- 2020
  • Disciplinary Subcommittee for Code of Conduct Violations, 2016 - present
  • Membership & Benefits Committee, 2016 – 2019
  • Chair, Physics Teacher Resource Agent Program review committee, 2016 – 2017
  • Meetings Location Committee, 2015 – 2017
  • Chair, National Nominating Committee, 2015-2016
  • National Nominating Committee, 2014 – 2015
  • Paper Sorting Committee, Winter Meeting 2010
  • Paper Sorting Committee, Summer Meeting 2009
  • Southern Ohio Section Representative, 2008-2021
  • Research in Physics Education Committee, 2007 – 2010
  • Southern Ohio Section Member-at-Large of Executive Board, 2006 –2008
  • Co-host of Rural PTRA workshops at Ohio State, 2003-2004
  • Poster Session Chair, PERC, 2002

Other Professional Activities

  • Ohio Project Kaleidoscope (AACU’s STEM education initiative) governing board, 2018-2024 (executive board secretary, 2019-2024)
  • AP Physics 2 Exam Development Committee, 2016-2023 (co-chair, 2020-2023)
  • Commission for P-12 Engineering Education, American Society for Engineering Education, 2014-2023
  • Co-editor (with Charles Henderson), Getting Started in Physics Education Research, Volumes I-V, in the PER-Central collection of COMPADRE
  • Director, Central Ohio Modeling Instruction Workshops, 2004-2018

Candidate Statement

I have been a member of AAPT for 30 years. Every time I attend an AAPT meeting, be it at the national or section level, I always leave it feeling an amazing combination of exhaustion and inspiration. Invariably, I return home with a list of far too many potential ideas to implement in my work. I often experience a mini-version of this excitement after reading a great article in The Physics Teacher or finding a new resource on Compadre. These interactions, whether in person, virtual, or mediated through text, have been vital to my development as a professional educator.

Fundamentally, interactions are what I believe AAPT is all about, and these interactions are based on the fact that every one of us can learn something from each of the other physics educators in the organization. AAPT’s strategic plan holds this belief at its core. One of the challenges the Board of Directors faces is enacting the plan’s commitment to encourage more teachers of physics at all levels, in all environments, and with a wide variety of backgrounds to participate more fully in the exchange of ideas and resources. I want to be part of the Board’s strategizing to follow that plan and bring that inspiration I feel at AAPT meetings to more of our colleagues. Of course, there are those for whom attending a meeting, particularly a national one, in the near future is not feasible, due to institutional or personal constraints; we must continue creating new, reality-informed, approaches and resources to insure all of our members feel connected to the larger AAPT community. Further, these strategies also need to provide value to our colleagues who are not yet members and motivate them to join and participate. The whole organization benefits when everyone feels welcome, when they seek and find resources from the community to support their professional growth, and when they know their contributions in support of others’ development are valued.

Over the years, I have tried to give back to the organization by being an active participant in many of its programs. I have served on several committees of different types, participated on special task forces along the way, and been a Section Representative. Still, I have received much more from the organization than I have given. I welcome the chance to further serve AAPT and help it continue to support and inspire physics educators in the future.