Uri Treisman Concludes His Tenure as Dana Center Executive Director

Uri Treisman has announced plans to step down from his role as executive director of the Charles A. Dana Center, effective June 1, 2023. Treisman has held this position since the Center’s founding in 1987.

The Dana Center was founded to ensure that the next generation of STEM professionals reflect the full diversity of American society. That mission will continue under the new leadership at the Center, with the full support of The University of Texas at Austin and the College of Natural Sciences.

In reflecting on his career at the Center, Treisman emphasized the honor he has felt in shaping programs and priorities that have advanced mathematics, science, and literacy education. 

“I know how fortunate I am to have been able to create a professional life devoted equally to the creation of new knowledge, to teaching, and to public service—all focused on the right to learn as a foundation of our democracy,” said Treisman. “I have been privileged to work as the executive director of the Dana Center. I will remain an active supporter of its mission, which I know will continue in the crucial work of increasing the number and diversity of students who successfully pursue STEM disciplines and professions.”

After June 1, Treisman will continue his leadership work in American mathematics education, for which he was recently awarded the prestigious James Bryant Conant Award from The Education Commission of the States. Treisman will continue to serve on national advisory boards, to advise education-focused philanthropies, and to engage in professional society committee work. In addition, Treisman will assume a new role as special advisor to Dr. David Vanden Bout, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and the home of the Dana Center. Now a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Treisman has taught freshman calculus for 50 years and plans to continue teaching and mentoring students and faculty. 

“The work Uri Treisman has done to advance math and science education across the K–12 and higher education landscape has created major gains for students, here in Texas and across the country,” said Vanden Bout. “I am grateful for his leadership at the Dana Center and excited to see its work continue as a leading national organization, ensuring all students have equitable access to excellent math and science education.”

Treisman has appointed Dr. Afi Y. Wiggins as the Dana Center interim managing director, effective immediately. In this role, Wiggins will ensure that our mission continues to be at the forefront of all we do, as the Center works toward achieving its long-term strategic goals. Wiggins is currently the director of strategy and impact, and has led strategic planning, evaluation, and resource development for the Center. Wiggins will work with Vanden Bout and Treisman through this transition period.

The Dana Center was founded at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1987, after Treisman’s innovative Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) at UC Berkeley was recognized with the Dana Foundation’s “Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in American Higher Education.” Treisman also received a MacArthur Fellowship for his work in STEM education. The Dana Foundation provided support to UC Berkeley to establish a Center to disseminate Treisman’s work. When Treisman joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin as a professor of mathematics in 1991, the Center moved, too.

Today the Dana Center works on the equity-minded improvement of mathematics and science education at scale. We collaborate with nearly two dozen states and prominent national organizations in the Launch Years Initiative, which aims to seamlessly align mathematics pathways from high school to postsecondary education. We work directly with state systems, such as the New Mexico Public Education Department and Louisiana Department of Education, to enhance professional learning and implementation opportunities for K–12 educators. We author top-rated mathematics and science curricular programs currently being enacted in more than 1,200 school districts by 350,000 secondary students and their 6,000 teachers in 28 states. As a public service to Central Texas, we actively support early childhood literacy education through our Literacy First program, which has provided over 2.2 million hours of tutoring support to K–2 students since 1994. 

“The Center may have been shaped upon work I began at Berkeley, but it has grown into more than I could have imagined,” said Treisman. “I am honored to have worked with many passionate and brilliant individuals, donors, partners, and joyful co-conspirators. The work continues, and I’m confident that the Dana Center’s staff and new leadership will make continued progress toward achieving the goals we set so many years ago and will positively impact the lives of millions more students.” 

For media inquiries, contact Alison Kothe.