ASMSA down to two director candidates

Matt Frederickson contacted the University of Arkansas System office yesterday and withdrew his application for consideration as Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science and the Arts director.

The two finalists are Corey Alderdice and Marcella Dalla Rosa.

After a nationwide search, three people had been selected as finalists for the director’s position at Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.

The finalists were Corey Alderdice, assistant director for admissions and public relations of The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Bowling Green, Ky.; Marcella Della Rosa, Ed.D., dean of students for Pulaski County Special School District in Little Rock; and Matthew Frederickson, Ph.D., director of curriculum, fine arts coordinator, band director and AP music theory teacher for Rockwood School District in Missouri.

Biographical information on each candidate is below and more information is available at www.asmsa.org/about/directors-search.

Chaired by University of Arkansas System President Dr. Donald Bobbitt, an advisory search committee selected the finalists from a pool of applicants.

“I’m extremely grateful to the search committee for their hard work and dedication to finding the best person to serve as the next director of ASMSA,” Bobbitt said. “The quality of our finalists is a testament to the outstanding work of the students, faculty and staff of ASMA. I look forward learning more about our finalists when they visit campus.”

In the coming weeks, the candidates will visit campus to meet the ASMSA faculty, staff, students and the campus community. The candidates will each make a public presentation about their vision for ASMSA at 3:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church on Whittington Avenue on the following dates:

•         April 24 – Marcella Della Rosa

•         April 30 – Corey Alderdice

Following the visits, Dr. Bobbitt will make a recommendation to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, which will make the final hiring decision.

ASMSA is a public, residential school for high school juniors and seniors who excel in the study of math and science. One of only 13 similar schools across the country, ASMSA is a campus of the University of Arkansas System and has a current enrollment of 206 students from across the state. The school’s Office of Distance Education also provides K-12 distance education program that serves nearly 3,500 students. The ASMSA Office of Distance Education offers real time, interactive video courses in virtually all disciplines to schools nationwide.

Current ASMSA Director Dr. Janet Hugo will retire June 30.

Candidates Biographical Information

Corey Alderdice is the assistant director of admissions and public relations at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Bowling Green, Ky. Prior to becoming assistant director in 2007, he was the school’s planning coordinator and assisted with recruitment and curriculum development as the Academy was being established.

Since 2003, Alderdice has been owner and publisher of SpeechGeek and SpeechGeek Market, which provides literature and coaching resources for high school speech and debate programs.

Prior to joining the Gatton Academy, Alderdice worked as director of residence life and as a residential counselor at Western Kentucky University’s Center for Gifted Studies. He also was an adjunct instructor at WKU and a camp instructor at WKU Summer Forensic Institute.

He is currently working on his doctoral degree in postsecondary education leadership through Western Kentucky University. He holds a master’s in English-literature and a Bachelor of Arts in English and religious studies, both from Western Kentucky University.

Marcella Dalla Rosa, Ed.D., has worked as dean of students for Pulaski County Special School District since 2009.

Previously she worked at Arkansas School for the Deaf having served as superintendent, interim superintendent, curriculum director, middle school principal, and state coordinator of educational services for the hearing impaired. She also spent several years working in the Pulaski County Special School District as facilitator for the hearing impaired, staff development instructor and homebound teacher. Earlier in her career she was a Ski-Hi trainer, parent advisor and consultant for the hearing impaired for the Arkansas School for the Deaf. She was also a teacher for the hearing impaired for the Muldrow Public Schools in Oklahoma.

Dalla Rosa holds an Ed.D. in educational administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a master’s in school counseling from University of Central Arkansas, and a Bachelor of Science degree in deaf education from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. University.