Early Career Teaching Award
In January 2003 the MAA established the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member to honor beginning college or university faculty whose teaching has been extra ordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms. In 2017, the Awards Committee of the Illinois Section decided to create our own Early Career Teaching Award to recognize those within our community who are early in their career and have already established a record of effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics. We define individuals as being early career if they have been teaching as full-time faculty in a department of mathematical sciences for at least one but not more than six years since receiving the Ph.D.
Recipients for this award will become the Section Nominee for the Henry L. Alder Award. Each year at most three college or university teachers are to be honored with this national award and are to receive $1000 and a certificate of recognition from the MAA. Award recipients will be expected to make a presentation at one of the national meetings of the MAA.
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 24, 2024 for consideration for the 2024 award. The Early Career Teaching Award recipient becomes the section's nominee for the Henry L. Adler Award for the following year.
Eligibility
The nominee must be a member of the MAA; hold a Ph. D., be a college or university teacher who has held a full-time faculty appointment in a department of mathematical sciences for at least one but not more than six years since receiving the Ph.D. Common exceptions to the six year limit are maternity, paternity, family, or medical leaves. Sabbaticals and postdoctoral fellowships are exceptions only if they involved no teaching and the application does not include accomplishments made during these times.
Criteria
All nominees should satisfy the following criteria.
- The nominee should be widely recognized as extraordinarily successful in their teaching. This may include the candidate's evidence of pedagogical approaches to teaching mathematics that inspire students to obtain a deeper understanding of mathematical methods.
- 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 (for example, 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. "Influence beyond their own institution" 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.