Remembering Former Professor and Head of Department of Mathematics and Science Education Ann Clark Howe

Ann Clarke Howe—a leader in science education who was affiliated with the College of Education in some capacity for over 30 years—passed away on Aug. 14, 2024.

Howe was the first woman to hold a faculty position in what was then the college’s Department of Mathematics and Science Education, where she served as a professor and department head from 1983 to 1989. 

After retiring from the University of Maryland as chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in 1994, she returned to the Triangle and served as an adjunct professor of science education with the College of Education through 2023. 

Former colleagues at NC State described Dr. Howe as a remarkable scholar, colleague and woman “for all seasons” who loved the natural world, and as a pioneer in science education who was one of the few female department heads at NC State in the 1980s. 

She became the first woman to hold a faculty position in science education at Syracuse University in 1972, when she became an assistant professor there. She was promoted to the full rank of professor at Syracuse in 1979 and joined NC State’s College of Education in 1983. There, in addition to serving as a professor and department head, she was also the founder and director of the Center for Research and Mathematics Education from 1984 to 1986. 

Howe earned her bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of Richmond and master’s in organic chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill. After teaching elementary science for a couple years and working as an instructor in chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaquez and a research assistant at UNC-Chapel Hill, she earned her Ph.D. in science education from the University of Texas in1970. 

During her distinguished career, Howe served as president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Chile, and authored numerous journal articles and two books entitled Engaging Children in Science and Case Studies in Elementary Science. 

After retiring, she became a painter and was a founding member of the Cary Gallery of Artists. 

A memorial service will be held on Friday, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh. You can read more about her life in this obituary.