Marie Sheckels, professor of education and interim dean of the College of Education at the University of Mary Washington, was named the recipient of the 2017 Waple Faculty Professional Achievement Award at a general faculty meeting on Wednesday, April 26.
Established in honor of Shirley Van Epps Waple, a 1952 graduate of the University, the nomination-based award recognizes faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to their scholarly or creative area of expertise. The winner must have been a full-time faculty member for at least seven years.
During her more than 35 years of service to the University, Sheckels has risen from lecturer to the rank of professor. She has assumed a variety of leadership roles, serving as Department Chair on two different occasions, Elementary Education Program Director, Secondary Mathematics Program Director and Graduate Coordinator for Elementary Education.
Sheckels “has proven to be a consummate leader, scholar, educator and colleague whose service, scholarship and teaching has served as a model for other faculty,” said Teresa Coffman, chair of the University committee on Sabbaticals, Fellowships, and Faculty Awards and Professor of Education.
Sheckels has co-led, authored and conducted primary research in 28 internal and external grants-to-date. She has been responsible for organizing, co-authoring, managing and leading 21 external grants that have exceeded $1 million in total monies received for the University, as well as seven internally funded grants that have totaled almost $80,000.
Sheckels received her doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in mathematics from Penn State and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Mary’s College.
A member of the Mathematical Association of America and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Sheckels is an expert in mathematics education. She and her colleagues have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
