South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics announces new faculty members

HARTSVILLE, SC – The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics (GSSM) announced new teaching faculty for the 2016-17 school year. GSSM is a two-year, public, residential high school in Hartsville, SC, for juniors and seniors from across the state. The School’s three-year, virtual engineering program, Accelerate, serves sophomores, juniors and seniors in partner school districts statewide.

New GSSM Faculty include:

• Dr. Tyler Brannan, Accelerate Math Instructor, PhD, Louisiana State University
• Dr. Kathryn de Ridder-Vignone, Economics & Finance Institute Instructor and Executive Director of Startsville: GSSM Foundation’s Center for Innovation, PhD, Cornell University
• Dr. Anders Gårdestig, Accelerate Physics and Engineering Instructor, PhD, Uppsala University
• Dr. Michael Newsome, Director of the BlueCross BlueShield Economics & Finance Institute, PhD, University of Kentucky
• Dr. María García Otero, Spanish Instructor, PhD, University of Kansas
• Dr. Beth Steedley, Accelerate English Instructor, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
• Mr. Carl Yackey, Government and Economics Instructor, BA, Wayne State University

“We are excited to welcome seven new instructors to the GSSM faculty,” said Dr. Hector Flores, GSSM president.

Dr. María García Otero, Dr. Tyler Brannan, Dr. Michael Newsome and Dr. Kathryn de Ridder-Vignone

GSSM’s residential program offers more than 50 STEM courses annually, 45 percent of which are above the AP level. GSSM has partnerships with Clemson University, College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina-Columbia to grant college credit for GSSM classes closely aligned with university courses.

The Accelerate engineering program, now in its fourth year, recently welcomed its newest cohort of students to the program, in addition to new teaching faculty. Through a partnership with Clemson University, Accelerate students can earn up to 41 credits towards an engineering degree. Partner school districts and sites for the 2016-17 school year include: Aiken, Berkeley County School, Darlington County School District, Dorchester Two, Greenville County, Greenwood School District 50, Horry County, Lexington One, Orangeburg Five, Palmetto Scholars Academy, Pickens County, Richland One, Spartanburg School District Five and Spartanburg School District Seven.

To learn more about GSSM’s residential and virtual programs, visit www.scgssm.org.