Hello, students! My name is Dr. Michael Brewer and I am extremely eager and excited to work with each of you in my courses at Unity Environmental University.  The Persian poet Rumi says, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”  I want to create a space where your voice and insights can illuminate the path we are carving out for you, to understand to ask questions, and to seek help.  I am an educator and scholar in Mathematics and want to make your experience in my course supportive, communicative, challenging, and rewarding.  For me, being in class has always offered me a sanctuary where I could tune down everything else and immerse myself in a community of knowledge seekers.  In Descartes’ Error, Antonio Damasio asserts, “We are not thinking machines. We are feeling machines that think.”  This affirms the importance of the affective domains in teaching and learning and I will strive to make your experience as enjoyable and painless as possible, so feel free to contact me for support and guidance, I am here for your success. 

I want to provide you with a brief description of my background and appropriate work experience. I am a resident of the Pittsburgh, PA area where I was born and raised. After high school, I accepted an athletic scholarship to play Division I football and graduated with a double degree in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, with minors in Biology and Chemistry. Upon graduating from college, I gained employment in the financial sector, as a corporate auditor, for four years. At this juncture, I pursued two graduate degrees, an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Mathematics, and a subsequent career change into the academic world. I began this new career change as a college administrator, in institutional research and development, and as a faculty member (mathematics) at a local community college. While employed in this capacity, I gained practical administrative, advising, teaching and counseling experience at the collegiate level. During this time, I pursued and obtained my Ph.D. in Mathematics – Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in Interactive Technologies and Student Performance in Mathematics. 

Throughout my professional career, I have served in many different administrative and faculty capacities, such as Director of Advising and Student Retention, Assistant Provost – Academic Affairs, and Assistant Superintendent; along with twenty years of teaching mathematics and business courses at numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Pittsburgh, California University of Pennsylvania, Carlow University, West Virginia University, Western Governor’s University and Chatham College. 

My professional career outside of academia includes being active in a variety of civic and cultural organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, the American Mathematical Society, Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Academic Advising Association, Rotary International, and the Faculty Professional Development Council of PA. Outside of my professional interests, I travel widely, read and write, and enjoy personal activities, such as weightlifting, golf, running, chess, and cultural events. I look forward to working and meeting each of you in our dedicated quest for student learning and success at Unity Environmental University.