The Michigan Section of the MAA's Distinguished Teaching Award Committee is pleased to announce Dr. Victor Piercey of Ferris State University as the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Piercey continually works to make mathematics accessible to all by guiding students to see mathematics as a lens through which one views reality. His view of mathematics as a way of thinking which transcends skill-based views of the subject set him apart. He has developed a two-course quantitative reasoning sequence as an alternative to standard algebra which uses an inquiry approach and focuses on communicating and applying mathematical ideas. This work has led to collaborations with colleagues from across campus, other institutions, and a multi-institutional NSF grant. More recently, Dr. Piercey has been developing a sequence in financial math for students majoring in actuarial science in which students grapple with how to apply mathematics in a way that improves the human condition. These are just a few of the projects and initiatives Dr. Piercey is a part of! On behalf of the Michigan Section of the MAA, congratulations to Dr. Victor Piercey!
Nominations are being solicited for the annual MAA Michigan Section Distinguished Teaching Award. The Distinguished Teaching Award Committee strongly urges departments or individuals to nominate deserving faculty for this award. We recognize that there are many outstanding teachers in the section, but we can consider only those who are nominated. The committee particularly welcomes nominations of individuals from groups (or type of institutions) that have historically been under-represented in mathematics or in the list of previous recipients of the award on the Section's history webpage.
Please send an electronic copy of the completed nomination form, which is available at the Section's website, to Abe Edwards <aedwards@msu.edu>. The awards committee will accept nominations until February 28, 2025. Please use "Michigan DTA Nomination" in the subject line. The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes outstanding teaching and is presented at the annual meeting of the Michigan Section. The recipient of this award will also, upon receipt of additional supporting material, become the Michigan section nominee for the national MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. Current and past recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award are listed on the Section's history webpage. Anyone may make a nomination (of someone else; self-nomination is not permitted), but nominations from chairs in departments of mathematical sciences are especially solicited. To be eligible for the award, a nominee must:
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Michelle Intermont of Kalamazoo College will be the recipient of the 2024 Michigan MAA Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Intermont was selected due to her 25+ years of service to the mathematics community, both locally and nationally. Within her department Dr. Intermont has organized and led weekly teatimes and colloquium gatherings for more than twenty years. She often invites speakers from across the region, often providing new mathematicians an opportunity to present their work and form connections with the Michigan math community. Dr. Intermont encourages and guides students as they pursue undergraduate research and apply to graduate schools. Beyond her department, Dr. Intermont has served as an external member of several PhD dissertation committees and as an external reviewer for mathematics departments and tenure cases at peer schools. She has also served as vice-president and president of the Michigan Section of the MAA and has been associate editor of the MAA Reviews online since 2019. On behalf of the Michigan Section of the MAA, congratulations to Dr. Intermont!
Nominations are being solicited for the annual MAA Michigan Section Distinguished Service Award. Nominations should include the nominee's service in their home department as well as service to the section, and any service performed for national mathematics organizations or for the promotion of mathematics in a local community. Nominees must be a member of the Michigan MAA section (i.e. members of the MAA with a Michigan mailing addresses or members of the section by choice).
Please send nominations to Amy Shell-Gellasch <ashellge@emich.edu>. The awards committee will accept nominations until January 31, 2025. Please use "Michigan DSA Nomination" in the subject line. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes service to the Section and is presented at the annual meeting of the Michigan Section. Current and past recipients of the Distinguished Service Award are listed on the Section's history webpage.
The Certificate of Meritorious Service recognizes service at the national and section level and is presented once every five years at the annual meetings of the Michigan Section. Current and past recipients of the Certificate of Meritorious Service are listed on the Section's history webpage.
This award is presented to the student (or students) with the most outstanding talk at the annual meeting of the MAA Michigan Section. Ron Mosier was a mathematician whose contributions to the subject spanned both pure and applied areas, from linear lattices to camshaft design. He loved mathematics, and he always was ready to listen, talk, or discuss any topic related to it. He was a regular attendee at the annual meeting, and one of the things he most enjoyed was the student talks. To honor Ron's memory, the Michigan Section instituted this prize in his name. Current and past recipients of the Ron Mosier Memorial Award are listed on the Section's history webpage.
Michele Intermont (left; Kalamazoo College) receiving the 2024 Distinguished Service Award from Amy Shell-Gellasch (right; Eastern Michigan University).
Victor Piercey (right; Ferris State University) receiving the 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award from Amy Shell-Gellasch (left; Eastern Michigan University).