Distinguished Teaching Award
In 1991, the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America established the Section Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics to recognize teachers of mathematics who have been extraordinarily successful at the post-secondary level. Award recipients are outstanding teachers who foster excitement about mathematics in their own students, and whose influence in teaching has gone well beyond their own institution. Simply being nominated for the award is a distinct honor.
Each year, the Awards Committee of the Illinois Section intends to select a Distinguished Teaching Award recipient from nominations made by the section membership. The recipient is honored with a certificate at that year's spring meeting of the section and is invited to deliver a lecture at the sectional meeting the following year. This individual becomes the Section Nominee for a Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. The Haimo Award recipients (at most three each year) are honored at the January meeting of the MAA the year following receiving sectional honors. Each Haimo recipient receives $1,000 and a certificate of recognition.
Nomination Process
Any member of the Illinois Section of the MAA may nominate any other member of the Section for this award. Self-nomination is not permitted. Please send a a letter of nomination to the Awards Committee Chair, Tim Comar, at tcomar@ben.edu. While nominations can be made at any time, nominations must be submitted by February 28, 2024 for consideration for the 2024 award. The winner of the award becomes the Section's nominee for the MAA's Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics award for the following year.
Eligibility
The nominee must be a member of the MAA; be a college or university teacher assigned at least half time during the academic year to the teaching of a mathematical science in a public or private college or university (from two-year college teaching through teaching at the Ph.D. level) in the United States or Canada; and must have at least five years teaching experience in a mathematical science. Those on approved leave (sabbatical or other) during the academic year in which they are nominated qualify if they fulfilled the requirements in the previous year.
Criteria
- The nominee should be widely recognized as extraordinarily successful at the post-secondary level.
- The nominee should have teaching effectiveness that can be documented. "Teaching" is to be interpreted in its broadest sense, not necessarily limited to classroom teaching. It may include activities such as preparing students for mathematical competitions at the college level (e.g., Putnam Prize Exam or Mathematical Contest in Modeling), or attracting students to become majors in a mathematical science or to become Ph. D. candidates.
- The nominee should have had influence in their teaching beyond their own institution. This can take many forms, including demonstrated lasting impact on alumni, influence on the profession through curricular revisions in college mathematics teaching with impact beyond your institution, and influential innovative books on the teaching of mathematics.
- The nominee should foster curiosity and generate excitement about mathematics in their students.