The Department of Physics at West Virginia University will close a chapter of its educational legacy to the state this week when longtime faculty member Carl A. Rotter retires after 36 years.

The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Physics will host a reception for Rotter from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in Elizabeth Moore Hall. Former and current students, colleagues and friends are welcome.

Eberly Dean M. Duane Nellis, WVU Provost Gerald E. Lang and Physics Chair Larry E. Halliburton are scheduled to speak.

“Carl Rotter has been an important asset to the Eberly College, West Virginia University and the states education community for nearly four decades,”Nellis said.”His efforts in teaching and service have opened doors for bright minds and have instructed two generations of science teachers about how to do the same for their students. He will be missed.”

Rotter obtained a bachelors degree in physics from St. Marys University in 1958 and then spent three years teaching high school physics and mathematics in San Antonio and his hometown of St. Louis. He returned to academia and earned a doctorate in solid state physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1966.

That same year, Rotter came to WVU as an assistant professor. He earned tenure in 1971 and was promoted to professor in 1980. In 1996 he was named one of three arts and sciences faculty members to be named an Eberly Family Professor for Outstanding Teaching, a title he retains today.

Early in his career he directed the work of four M.S. students and four Ph.D. students in the area of solid state physics. He published five research papers in refereed journals, authored two technical reports on neutron scattering at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and presented 15 papers at professional meetings.

During the past 25 years, Rotter has focused on improving science education at the high school level and teaching basic physics courses taken by WVU students majoring in science

education and engineering. His dedication led to his being named one of the top five WVU teachers in evaluations by senior engineering majors.

In his work on pedagogy for high school science teachers, Rotter developed the Comprehensive Conceptual Curriculum for Physics with support from a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The curriculum includes a CD-ROM, which high school teachers study to understand basic concepts in physics and to develop their presentations. The

curriculum is used by teachers in 40 states.

Rotter also has developed an extended-learning course in modern physics for teachers. The Web-based course integrates streaming video technology and interactive mathematics.

During his 36 years on the WVU faculty, Rotter has received the Outstanding Teacher Award in the Eberly College three times, the Golden Key Honor Society outstanding faculty award twice and the WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award in 1987. In 1988 the Council for Advancement and Support of Education named him West Virginia Professor of the Year.

He has served on the University Faculty Senate as chair of the curriculum committee and as an associate director of the Benedum Teacher Education Project. He has been an advocate of inquiry-based learning in the undergraduate curriculum.

Rotters wife, Mary Ann Hayes-Rotter, other family members and friends have recently endowed the Carl Rotter Graduate Teaching Award in Physics, which annually will recognize a graduate physics student for his or her outstanding teaching in the classroom or laboratory. Those interested in contributing to the Rotter Fund should make checks, with Account Number 3V584 written on the memo line, payable to the WVU Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 1650, Morgantown, WV 26505 .

The gift was made in conjunction with the Building Greatness Campaign, a $250 million fund-raising effort being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University The five-year campaign has received more than $216 million toward its goal and concludes Dec. 31,

2003. The WVU Foundation is a private non-profit corporation that generates and provides support for West Virginia University.