Includes bibliographical references and index.

Front Matter -- Copyright page / Barbara S. Spector -- Dedication / Barbara S. Spector -- Prologue / Barbara S. Spector -- List of Figures and Tables / Barbara S. Spector -- Life Overview / Barbara S. Spector -- Early Life / Barbara S. Spector -- Career Path / Barbara S. Spector -- A Change Agent Learning to be a Professor / Barbara S. Spector -- Using Community Resources for Teaching / Barbara S. Spector -- Designing Programs and Courses / Barbara S. Spector -- Initial Courses and Programs / Barbara S. Spector -- More Courses and Programs, Part 1 / Barbara S. Spector -- More Courses and Programs, Part 2 / Barbara S. Spector -- Emergent Social Issues / Barbara S. Spector -- Grantsmanship – Government Agencies / Barbara S. Spector -- The Audit – Peculiar Consequence of the Paradigm Shift1 / Barbara S. Spector -- Grant Life – Private Gifts – The Green Place Saga / Barbara S. Spector -- University Politics1 / Barbara S. Spector -- Gender Issues – A Sign of the Times / Barbara S. Spector -- Thriving in my Career / Barbara S. Spector -- Professional Associations / Barbara S. Spector -- Sources of Satisfaction and Joy in My Work / Barbara S. Spector -- Learning from My Graduate Students / Barbara S. Spector -- Epilogue / Barbara S. Spector -- Back Matter -- Glossary of Acronyms / Barbara S. Spector -- Name Index / Barbara S. Spector -- Subject Index / Barbara S. Spector.

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The book is an autoethnography (self-analysis) of a woman’s career as an educator that spans half a century. Her stories as a visionary change agent in STEM education provide •an unorthodox approach to surviving and thriving in academia. By candidly “telling tales out-of-school” about events common in higher education – but not openly talked about – these stories and 149 lessons learned can be a roadmap for both seasoned and early career faculty; •a guide to sources of joy and satisfaction – career rewards;◦insight to attaining grants from public and private sources to develop programs for diverse learners and for community engagement; ◦a federal grant funding program officer’s use of a systemic approach to infuse marine education nationally; ◦adventures of an out-of-the-box high school biology teacher as a template for use of the community as a resource for teaching K-12; ◦use of program and course development for learners of all ages in formal and informal settings as a mechanism for change. Social issues emerging during this study that are relevant to the next generation of educators include a woman's role in society, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment; shifting paradigms, school reform, resistance to change, and educational funding; environmental degradation and climate change.