The Science Exploration Day (SED) Organizing Committee wishes to posthumously honor Dr. Rod Doran for his vision and leadership.  Dr. Doran, a founding member of the committee, was instrumental in conceptualizing and organizing SED, an annual event which continues a 34-year tradition of educating area youth about the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics .  While SED has evolved since its inception, Dr. Doran was a constant driving force - with a clear vision on how to embrace change while valuing all the contributions of the many people needed to make SED a success. His contributions to SED will be greatly missed.

 Improving classroom science instruction was at the heart of Dr. Rodney Doran’s work. Rod created the New York State Summer Institute for Science and Math (NYSSISM) and the New Physics Teacher Institute. He established the Science Assessment Liaison Network, and developed resources for New York State Education Department (NYSED) and National Opinion Research Center (NORC). He earned a national reputation for the work he conducted on science performance assessments.  

His outstanding work in science education resulted in over 15 professional awards and honors. Dr. Doran was an author or co-author of 15 books, several book chapters, and 70 plus research articles. He was the principal investigator of several multi-million dollar grants which focused on improving the quality of science instruction and assessment in schools. He served as a principal advisor for over 40 doctoral students, and was a dissertation committee member for an additional 30 candidates. To his dissertation students Dr. Doran was warmly referred to as coach.

After he retired from SUNY UB in 2003, Dr. Doran continued life-long passion for science and developed a set of Grandpa Science Activities. To the people who knew Rod, he was the ultimate mentor and role model. Dr. Doran, professor emeritus in the University at Buffalo School of Education, died July 24, 2019, at the age of 79.

To recognize Dr. Doran's work and promote his continued commitment to science teaching and learning, a Founding Members Committee initiated a Scholarship Fund drive in the Spring of 2012. The goal of the fund is to establish a $50,000 endowment through the UB Foundation for a lasting scholarship in Dr. Doran's name. 

Contributions to the Dr. Rodney Doran Legacy Scholarship Fund of any size are gratefully accepted! To make a contribution kindly go to the University at Buffalo Foundation website: http://giving.buffalo.edu/giveto/9321069915 

Thank you.