Beth Herbel-Eisenmann was named an MSU Red Cedar Distinguished Professor in July 2026. The Michigan State University distinction recognizes faculty for their exemplary scholarly achievements, teaching excellence and alignment with university priorities, including student recruitment and retaining top academic talent.
Herbel-Eisenmann is a recognized leader in mathematics education. She currently serves as a professor in the college’s Department of Teacher Education and as director for the Program in Mathematics Education (PriME), jointly administered by the Colleges of Education and Natural Sciences.
In addition to her MSU-based role, since 2022, Herbel-Eisenmann has served as a professor II for the University of South-Eastern Norway.
Across her internally and externally funded grants (totaling over $12.7 million), words such as “community-situated,” “human rights,” “student strengths,” and “partnership” appear in almost every project. Herbel-Eisenmann has had a career-long commitment to not only improving mathematics education for educators and students, but doing so with them.
“Too often, educators and students are not taken seriously in the sense that they are experts and knowledge creators in their own right. Doing research with teachers and students creates space for and honors their knowledge, experiences and perspectives and treats them as equal in the intellectual project,” said Herbel-Eisenmann.
Career highlights
Herbel-Eisenmann is an MSU graduate, having earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Teaching and Education Policy (in addition to degrees from Mayville State University and Northern Arizona University). She joined MSU's College of Education in 2008 after serving at various institutions across the U.S. and Canada. She became a full professor in 2016 and has served as PriME’s program director since 2022.
She has supported more than 40 Spartans in earning their degrees, including serving as Ph.D. advisor to 22. Her commitment to supporting and mentoring early career scholars also extends to first- and second-year faculty in mathematics education. She has served as a facilitator for the Service, Teaching and Research (STaR) Program for the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators from 2017-22.
Herbel-Eisenmann has been recognized at MSU and nationally for her contributions to the community and field, including an Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award (MSU Graduate School, 2026) and the Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Teaching (MSU Outreach and Engagement, 2024). She earned the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2023 from the American Education Research Association’s Special Interest Group on Research in Mathematics Education and a Director’s Award for Superior Accomplishment from NSF in 2022. The NSF honor celebrated Herbel-Eisenmann's work in a group that designed, launched and led the early management of the Racial Equity in STEM program, part of the NSF Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR).
“As an alum of MSU and someone who has contributed as a faculty member in the Department of Teacher Education for two decades, I feel especially honored to receive this distinction,” said Herbel-Eisenmann.
For more information about the distinction, explore the MSU Office of Research & Innovation's website.