Alliance for Catholic Education
Matthew Kloser, founding director of the Notre Dame Center for STEM Education and faculty for ACE Teaching Fellows, has been named Hackett Family Director of Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI) effective October 1.
Kloser succeeds Associate Professor of the Practice Christine Trinter, who has served as the IEI’s acting director for the past year while also directing the ACE Ascent Program.
Kloser, an associate professor of the practice and fellow in the IEI, received his M.Ed. through the ACE Teaching Fellows program and taught high school physics and math for five years before earning his M.S. in biology and Ph.D. in science education from Stanford University. After returning to Notre Dame in 2012, he founded the Notre Dame Center for STEM Education, which works at the intersection of research and STEM teacher formation in both Catholic and public schools to advance the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for all students, particularly those most often marginalized.
Founded in 1996, the Institute for Educational Initiatives consists of more than two dozen initiatives that strive to improve education for all youth, particularly the disadvantaged, paying special, though not exclusive, attention to Catholic schools. The institute is home to more than 30 teaching and clinical faculty members and professors of the practice, as well as 80 faculty fellows from across the University.
Through teaching, research and outreach, the institute’s scholars and practitioners pursue interdisciplinary collaborations to better understand and improve PK-12 education both in the United States and internationally. The institute is particularly well known and highly regarded for its distinctive graduate-level licensure programs: ACE Teaching Fellows and the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program.
In addition to the flagship Alliance for Catholic Education programs and the Center for STEM Education, the institute’s initiatives include the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity; the Education, Schooling and Society undergraduate minor; the Program for Interdisciplinary Educational Research for graduate students; the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child; and the Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education, among others.
Kloser’s research, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation, explores cognition and instruction in K-12 science classrooms, science teacher pre-service formation, the ongoing professional learning of STEM teachers, and the intersection of faith and STEM learning. Kloser was recently named one of three editors-in-chief of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching for the term 2025–2029.
“I can think of no greater privilege than to work even more deeply with faculty and staff in the IEI who, through the formation of teachers and leaders, direct service to schools and children, and transformative research, have dedicated their careers to ensuring the highest quality of education for all young people,” Kloser said.
"Matt is an excellent scholar and compassionate leader who is truly committed to the IEI. We were impressed with his deep institutional knowledge, strong research record, and compelling vision for the future."
Vice President and Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning Ron Metoyer
Read the full announcement on the provost's page.