SOUTHFIELD, Mich.—Lawrence Technological Universityis proud to announce that Jay Jessen, director of LTU’s Marburger STEM Center, has been named STEM Director of the Year 2025 by Education Technology Insights, a leading industry publication recognizing innovation and leadership in education.
The award honors Jessen’s transformational approach to inclusive, hands-on STEM learning, which has already reached more than 9,000 students and equipped more than 400 educators with tools to inspire the next generation of innovators in the last two years. It also acknowledges Jessen’s leadership in shaping collaborations, advancing equity, and creating opportunities for learners of all backgrounds.
“This recognition is truly an honor,” Jessen said. “It reflects the passion and commitment of LTU and the Marburger STEM Center to ensure STEM is for everyone — a space for exploration, creativity, and discovery.”
Leading Through Innovation and Impact
Since taking leadership of the Marburger STEM Center, Jessen has introduced groundbreaking initiatives, including STEM Scholars Visits, the Summer STEM Series (S3), Mobile RPM Studio, and continuation of LTU’s High School Summer Programs, that bring science, technology, engineering, and math to life. Students build drones, design robotics, and even explore engineering through motorsports simulation, demonstrating the center’s commitment to experiential, real-world learning.
Jessen’s philosophy, that frustration and failure in a supportive learning environment are stepping stones to discovery, has become a hallmark of STEM Center’s engagement approach. By training hundreds of educators each year, the center extends its influence far beyond campus, multiplying the reach of inclusive STEM education across schools, districts, and communities nationwide.
In the photo above, Jessen leads a group of middle school students in a water sampling exercise in the Evans Branch of the Rouge River, which flows through LTU’s campus.
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU, which offers communication training programs of the former Specs Howard School, and LTU’s growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
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