Stony Brook University's (SBU) distributed model of teacher preparation model originated in the 1990’s and left control of the programs with individual departments. Center for Science and Mathematics Education (CESAME), which directs all aspects of science and mathematics teacher preparation on campus, has grown to become a nationally recognized STEM education hub with four tenure track faculty and five lecturers supported by the University. The growth and success of CESAME is due to an innovative 
and entrepreneurial university spirit, outstanding leadership committed to STEM education, and a team committed to providing opportunity for the next generation.
CESAME’s unique model is evidenced by tenure track science education faculty appointments in STEM departments. These faculty are joint hires with expertise in science disciplines as well as science education research. They teach undergraduate introductory science courses as well as doctoral courses in the new PhD Program in Science Education. They have successfully implemented innovative teaching practices in undergraduate STEM courses to increase student engagement and improve retention in STEM majors. Their research has informed these innovations and their plans for developing a learning analytics model to measure student impact.
In 2004, STEM teacher production was coordinated by CESAME’s founder and director, a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry with a history of considerable external support. CESAME was awarded a tenure track line to attract a leader for its science education teaching programs. After a three-year search, an experienced leader was appointed with a background in science education research in addition to his disciplinary expertise. The new appointee created the PhD program in Science Education. He rapidly obtained tenure in the Department of Biochemistry. He and the founder of CESAME oversaw the transformation of this innovative model into a replicable framework for STEM education reform.
The newly created PhD program recruited its first graduate students in 2010, all with scholarly potential. The Provost committed an additional tenure track line and an outstanding physics education researcher was recruited for the PhD program. She gave a seminar on physics education before her hire was successfully voted upon by physics faculty. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed between Physics and CESAME regarding her duties, and details of the protocols for promotion and tenure were negotiated and implemented. A committee of 3 physics faculty and 2 CESAME faculty was established to make tenure recommendations; this represented a major change to the tenure policy at SBU that highlights the prominence of STEM education research. She is now teaching undergraduate physics with outstanding evaluations, is externally funded and well published, and teaching and mentoring graduate students in the science education PhD program.
With continued growth of the PhD program, the Provost provided a further line for a science educator, who was hired jointly into CESAME and the Department of Ecology and Evolution with a similar strategy. He is outstanding in all metrics of faculty evaluation.