The award was presented during the Ohio Section meetings held earlier this month at The University of Akron. The award is presented to those who are widely recognized as successful teachers, have had an influence in their teaching of mathematics beyond their own institutions and foster curiosity and generate excitement about mathematics in their students.

Faires is particularly known for taking a personal interest in his students at all levels of mathematics. He has inspired many of his students to pursue mathematics beyond the undergraduate level. Currently, he has four former students completing doctoral programs at leading universities.

Consistently earning outstanding student evaluations on his teaching, He has a long track record of classroom excellence. A student writes, " his use of concrete examples to explain abstract ideas is unmatched." Another former student has written, "Dr. Faires takes a personal interest in the professional development of his students which has a profound impact upon our futures." Student comments reflect that Faires helps students to better themselves as human beings while striving for academic excellence.

Over the years, he has encouraged many Youngstown State University students to excel at mathematics while enhancing the profile of the university by having students speak on the national level as well as win awards for their accomplishments in mathematics. He has been very active in the mathematics student honorary society Pi Mu Epsilon, serving on the Board of Directors from 1987-present.

In addition to his contributions to teaching, he has generously served the mathematical community as President (1981-82) of the Ohio Section of the Mathematics Association of America. He also has served as chair on numerous section committees and has been a strong advocate for mathematical excellence throughout the state of Ohio.

He is perhaps best known in the profession as a textbook writer. Many college students around the country had their first exposure to calculus using a text written by Dr. Faires. He has published 10 textbooks covering such challenging subjects as calculus and numerical analysis. His text on Numerical Analysis written with Richard L. Burden has been used in universities throughout the world for the past 15 years. A more recent book Numerical Analysis, published in 1993, has enjoyed positive reviews and has been translated into German. He describes his textbooks as a means to reach a larger audience since his teaching style and philosophy of mathematics are incorporated into each book.

Other mathematical activities include currently serving as a reviewer for several professional journals including the American Mathematical Monthly and Mathematics Magazine. Faires also is a member of the Committee on the American Mathematical Competitions, which constructs examinations for students at the junior high and high school levels.

Dr. Faires received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of South Carolina (1970) and has been an active member of the Youngstown State University faculty since 1969. He is married to Barbara, a mathematics professor at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, and they have a daughter Erika (age 13).

He may be contacted at faires@math.ysu.edu. Click here for his web page.

Full version of portrait above.
Photo of Doug in action.