2011 Ohio Section Award for
Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics
David Meel
Bowling Green State University
The recipient of the 2011 Ohio Section Award for Distinguished
College or University Teaching of Mathematics is Dr. David Meel from
Bowling Green State University. The award was presented to David
during the Spring Section Meeting on March 25, 2011. After
completing his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh in 1995, David
served as a post-doc at the Center for Innovation in Learning,
Research, and Development at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1996, he
moved to Bowling Green State University where he is currently a
newly promoted Professor of Mathematics Education. David has twice
received the Kappa Mu Epsilon Excellence in Teaching Mathematics
Award at BGSU. David is an active member of the MAA‘s Ohio Section
where he has served on CONTEAL and recently as local arrangements
chair for the Spring 2009 Annual Meeting. In addition to his work
with the MAA (including various officer positions in the Research in
Undergraduate Mathematics Education SIGMAA), he also serves the
profession through his involvement with NCTM, OCTM, Greater Toledo
Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Association for Research in
Undergraduate Mathematics, and the Psychology of Mathematics
Education-North America. The award nomination for David noted the
"incredible amounts of time (he spends) with students." A
colleague of his commented that "His office always seems to have
students in it (with) others often waiting outside." A former
student of David‘s wrote the following in support of the David‘s
nomination: "He was an amazing professor. He helped me in more than
just understanding the history of math or how to approach teaching
students. He also helped me to find my passion for teaching math ...
He helped me to see that ...with teaching math there is not always a
clean cut formula." David has demonstrated his commitment to
excellence in mathematics education in multiple ways. His research
in mathematics pedagogy has appeared in a wide variety of venues,
including PRIMUS, Loci, and Mathematics Teacher. One of his papers
which appeared in the AMS‘s Research in Collegiate Mathematics
Education has been translated into Spanish and is used in a number
of schools throughout North America. In addition to his work with
collegiate level teaching, David also works with high school
mathematics teachers through his participation in his institution‘s
M.A.T. program for which he has designed courses in teaching
geometry and algebra. He also developed a Mathematical Problem
Solving workshop and has made the materials from this available as
an on-line resource for teachers. David‘s dedication to his
students, colleagues, and to the profession serves as an inspiration
to us all.
Submitted by Mark Miller
Marietta College
Section Teaching Award Committee
Chair, 2010-2011
