Career Highlights:
Dr. Norma Neely, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, serves as the director for the American Indian Institute within the division of Public and Community Services at the University of Oklahoma. She received her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Texas and her master's and bachelor's degrees in education from Central Missouri State University.
Dr. Neely began her career as an elementary teacher and in 1990 received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. Prior to coming to the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Neely served as coordinator for the Building a Presence for Science at the National Science Teachers Association, associate director for the NSF-funded Texas Rural Systemic Initiative, and science instructional facilitator for the Northeast Regional Professional Development Center at Truman University. She also taught classes for pre-service teachers at Oklahoma State University.
During the course of her career, she has designed and implemented professional development experiences for teachers, wrote a grant to take teachers to the Peruvian Amazon and develop curriculum materials ; as well as participated in numerous grants including an NSF-funded research expedition to Antarctica, a state-funded learning experience in Galapagos, and archaeological digs in various locations in the United States and Zaire.
Dr. Neely served as a professional development director on the board of the National Science Teachers Association and as the education committee chair on the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) board. She has also served on numerous boards and advisory committees for various organizations, including Science Teachers of Missouri, American Royal advisory committee, Missouri Governor's Task Force on Environmental Education, Scholastic's Magic School Bus advisory council, and EarthScope's Education and Outreach committee.
