Farshid Safi, Ph.D.
This past spring, Associate Professor of K-12 Mathematics Education Farshid Safi took on another significant leadership role in being elected as the president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) — the largest professional organization dedicated to mathematics teacher education.
Safi, who also serves as associate director for teaching and service in the School of Teacher Education in the College of Community Innovation and Education, has been actively working to further increase UCF visibility and leadership at the national level through his role with AMTE.
“I was honored to be elected,” he says. “I hope to help build bridges within research, teaching and service areas, and to make sure it's all focused on providing a sense of community, expertise and professional learning for our teachers and our students. This means creating opportunities to be together as a professional community of educators, to learn together and to collaborate further together.”
Comprised of over 1,000 members, AMTE focuses on improving mathematics teacher education through research, professional development and collaboration. Safi says his goals include finding innovative approaches to teacher preparation, interdisciplinary partnership, and developing national connections — all of which he maintains will help further UCF's leadership and prominence in mathematics and STEM education.
“One of the things I'm looking forward to doing at UCF is connecting my role with AMTE to help broaden our reach and impact both nationally and internationally,” Safi says. “By serving as (AMTE) president, it allows me to lead and contribute in a lot of spaces where I can be creative and innovative — and to connect those efforts back to UCF.”
Safi’s involvement with the association began when he was a graduate student, and he has remained heavily involved through contributions to national conferences, various leadership roles and contribution to writing national policy updates and position statements. He was nominated by peers in 2023 for the role of president, serving last year as the president-elect. He will continue serving as acting president until 2027, when he will then take on a year-long mentorship role for his successor.
Some other areas of emphasis for AMTE that Safi intends to focus on throughout his leadership include research on innovative technology and how it could strategically enhance mathematics learning, as well as providing guidance on preparing, supporting and retaining mathematics teachers. This includes strengthening research-based practices to best serve the evolving needs of students, educators and communities. Collectively, these areas of focus also translate well for UCF to continue to lead in the preparation of future educators and supporting the needs and professional learning opportunities for current K-12 teachers.
“(The role of AMTE president) does really allow us to further position UCF as a national leader,” Safi says. “We are highly visible in leading, research and service, and we are highly respected when it comes to our graduate programs. This all contributes positively toward enriching our programs, and it helps people feel confident that we have the expertise and the networks to help them succeed. It allows us to lead programmatically, but also as a leading, prominent institution.”