Karen Marrongelle facts for kids
Karen Ann Marrongelle is an American expert in how people learn mathematics together. She helps students understand math better by working in groups. In 2018, she was chosen to lead a special department at the National Science Foundation. This department focuses on education and human resources. Before that, she was a top leader at Portland State University.
Her Early Life and School
Karen Ann Marrongelle grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She went to Allentown Central Catholic High School. After high school, she studied mathematics at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. She also worked at Albright's radio station, WXAC. She finished college in 1995.
She continued her studies and earned a master's degree in mathematics in 1997 from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Later, she earned her doctorate degree in mathematics education from the University of New Hampshire. Her big research project was about how students use physics to understand calculus better.
Her Career Journey
In 2001, Karen Ann Marrongelle became a professor at Portland State University. She took a break from the university to work at the National Science Foundation from 2007 to 2009.
When she returned to Portland State, she took on several important leadership roles. She helped set academic rules and plan university strategies. In 2015, she became the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As dean, she was involved in decisions about which language programs the university would offer.
