Allison Turley, a full-time instructor in the School of Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County Campus, has been named a 2024 Moody Institute Fellow. This prestigious fellowship will allow Turley to expand her expertise in statistics and enhance her teaching methods for the upcoming academic year.

Turley, now in her second year as an instructor at the college, applied for the Moody Fellowship after receiving encouragement from Dr. Cedric Bradley, the campus vice president, and her department chair, Angela Sims. With seasoned faculty retiring and the demand for more advanced math courses increasing, the fellowship comes at a crucial time for Turley to develop new skills in statistical analysis, complementing her background in calculus.

The Moody Fellowship, awarded to 16 recipients statewide, provided Turley with tuition assistance for specialized training. Her recent coursework at the University of North Alabama focused on teaching statistics and the application of quantitative analysis, with additional hands-on experience using Python for data analysis and machine learning.

In addition to technical skills, Turley studied GAISE-II, a set of national guidelines for improving statistical literacy in the classroom. She plans to integrate her newly gained knowledge into courses such as Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning at MGCCC.

“I feel incredibly honored and grateful to the Moody Institute for their generous support,” said Turley. “I’m excited to bring the skills I’ve learned back to my classroom to benefit my students.”

The Moody Institute Trust Fund, named after Dr. George V. Moody, the first Executive Director for the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, supports Mississippi community college faculty in enhancing their educational methods.