From the desk of President Leslie K. Guice

Faculty Feature: Ms. Lindsey Keith-Vincent and SciTEC

Jul 30, 2013 | Faculty Feature

Lindsey Keith-Vincent is a first-generation college graduate who is making a big difference in the education and career opportunities for thousands of Louisiana students. She has risen from the small community of Swartz to be a classroom teacher and Director of the Science and Technology Education Center (SciTEC) in the College of Education.  Lindsey has encouraged and inspired many students from underserved communities with the expectation of success and a desire for the pursuit of education, just as her parents did for her. As Director of SciTEC, Lindsey oversees the Office of Professional Education Outreach, the Louisiana Tech Planetarium, the IDEA Place, and a number of grant-funded professional development and outreach projects.  Lindsey and her colleagues bring in millions of dollars of external grant funding each year to support the educational development of PK-12 students and teachers.  And Lindsey really knows how to stir things up.  When things get a little too quiet, she just calls out the UFOs.  Check out this MyArkLaMiss news report: http://myarklamiss.com/fulltext?nxd_id=233812 The summer is by far the busiest and best time of the year for SciTEC.  SciTEC faculty and staff have had a long history with the DoEd-funded LA GEAR UP program; and each summer for about a decade, SciTEC has been able to host LBKV on the morning showresidential learning experiences for students from across our state. The program has served as a model program, and allows students to realize their potential and see that post-secondary education is a viable option for them. The students and staff grow tremendously through the experiences. Lindsey regularly spreads the word about the summer camps and other SciTEC activities on regional TV news shows. http://myarklamiss.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=232192 SciTEC events also provide  opportunities for College of Education faculty to collaborate with those in other colleges on campus as well as at other universities across the state.  Recent multi-disciplinary collaborations have included Engineering, Science, Journalism, and Professional Aviation faculty.  Lindsey also acknowledges that these programs could not be possible without the support from many others on campus including housing, food services, student life, comptroller, buildings and grounds, and others. Lindsey estimates that an average of 15,000 students are impacted each year through SciTEC programs including IDEA Place guests as well as teachers involved in professional development activities and coursework. Several thousand of these and teachers spend time on the Tech campus each summer. Lindsey believes that it is not fair to complain about the world in which we live without making a concerted effort to make it better. She lives by the principle “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  If you don’t change anything else, at least you change your world! She knows that each day she has to give it her all and hope that it truly does impact those around her. Lindsey understands that she will never know the extent of the impact she makes as an educator. There have been those exceptions though when the students do come back and let her know what a difference she made in their life.   Lindsey says “Those days are pretty amazing!” There is plenty of evidence that Lindsey is making a difference by encouraging a love of learning in others. She is encouraging others to be life long learners, to experience the world, to take action, and to help make the world a better place, too. Lindsey will complete her doctorate in Education soon, but not before she and her husband Matthew (the best Mathematics teacher she knows) have their first child, Korbin Keith, expected in August.