Longtime STCC math professor honored as Faculty of the Year

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Math professor Lauren Brewer says Springfield Technical Community College feels like home.

“I started teaching here when I was 25 years old,” said Brewer, referring to when she was hired in 1987 as an adjunct professor. “I feel like I grew up here. It feels like home to me. I’ve been here for so long, I know I have left a mark here in the community, and that matters to me.”

STCC is recognizing Brewer for her impact. At the Commencement on June 1, she was honored as Faculty of the Year for 2022-2023. Each year, STCC honors one faculty member who has made significant and distinct contributions to the college and academic programs.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Geraldine de Berly called Brewer “a consummate professional.”

“Professor Brewer’s priority has always been exposing math to students through a curriculum that facilitates access,” she said. “Her dedication to her students and to STCC reflects her educational priorities.”

“Lauren is an excellent teacher, chair, colleague, and one of the nicest humans on the planet,” said Lara Sharp, Dean of the School of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). “She is creative, collaborative, friendly, supportive and a fantastic role model for her peers and new faculty.  STCC and the STEM Division are lucky to have Lauren as a part of the team.”

Brewer, the most senior member of the math department, has seen the college grow and evolve over the decades. In 1990, she became the first full-time woman faculty to be hired in the Math Department at STCC, which is the only technical community college in Massachusetts. She has served as department chair since 2018, and was co-chair 2002-2006 and 2015-2018.

In 2023, all seven faculty members in the math department are women. Looking back to her first year as the lone woman teaching math at STCC, Brewer said some of her female students remarked they never had a woman for a math teacher.

STCC also has become more of a diverse institution since Brewer started. In 2015, the college received a federal designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution, which means that at least 25 percent of its students identify as Latina/Latino/Latinx.

“The student population has changed, but teaching them hasn’t really changed,” Brewer said. “I know there’s always a lot of talk about coming up with innovative teaching, but to me it’s always been sort of two parts making relationships with the students and then one part entertainment – and keeping them entertained.”

“You have to be a little silly, I think, especially in math,” she said.

The student population has changed, but teaching them hasn’t really changed. Lauren Brewer, Math professor at STCC

Brewer estimates she has taught 10,000 students since she started her career in 1987, instructing them on all things math, from arithmetic to differential equations. She keeps in touch with some of them.

One of them, Dr. Vanessa Hill, is a former student and now a colleague of Brewer’s. Hill teaches math at STCC.

"I can't speak highly enough about Lauren,” Hill said. “When I was a student at STCC, she was one of the women who mentored and encouraged me to get my advanced degree and come back to teach.  She is a fierce advocate for her students, and I am honored to call her my colleague, but most importantly my friend."

Brewer believes strongly in the mission of STCC – supporting students as they transform their lives. Her daughters, Natalie and Danielle Brewer, both received degrees from STCC and transferred to continue their education. Natalie works as a lab tech in the biology department at STCC. Danielle, an engineer, works for Boeing Co. in Philadelphia.

“My philosophy with teaching is you have to form relationships and connections with students,” Brewer said. “They have to know that you see them, and they can’t hide from you. You’re approachable.”

She makes a point to get to class early and talk to the people in the classroom, especially the ones sitting in the back corner. “Talk to them about themselves and learn about the students,” she said.

Brewer, 61, an East Longmeadow resident, grew up in Illinois in an academic family. Her father was an astronomer.

“I grew up around STEM people,” she said. “This sort of career was never discouraged.”

Brewer loves math because of its “perfection.” When she was studying at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she started as a chemistry major. But she didn’t like being in a lab, so she switched to math.

“Everything fits together,” she said about math. “It is the most perfect thing. It is always perfect and I like that.”

She has no immediate plans to retire. In the fall of 2023, she’ll be back in the classroom teaching them about numbers and equations.

Brewer knows that not all students love math the way she does. But she believes they can learn and understand math if they apply themselves.

“You have to poke around and find out how they learn and how they see things,” she said. “You can’t present one way to do it. You sometimes have to have a different way to show something. It’s helpful to bring other students into the discussion. You have to let the students talk to each other and explain things.”

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333

About Springfield Technical Community College

STCC, the Commonwealth's only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC's highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequaled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts. Founded in 1967, the college – a designated Hispanic Serving Institution – seeks to close achievement gaps among students who traditionally face societal barriers. STCC supports students as they transform their lives through intellectual, cultural, and economic engagement while becoming thoughtful, committed and socially responsible graduates.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim Danko, (413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu

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