Dr. Dana Ernst, A
ssociate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Northern Arizona University
MAA Southwestern Section Distinguished Teaching Award for the year of 2015-2016.
Dr. Ernst was nominated by Brian Beaudrie and John Hagood, both from Northern Arizona University - Thank you Brian and John! Dana's use of Inquiry-Based Teaching (IBL) methods have led to students developing a better and deeper understanding of Mathematics of both undergraduate and graduate level. Dana gave the attendees at this conference an idea of what he was doing in the classroom, when he gave an invited talk illustrating his methods. What fun!
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Dr. Thomas Gruszka, Department Chair and Professor of Mathematics at Western New Mexico University
Dr. Gruszka received the MAA Southwestern Section's 2019 Distinguished Teaching Award. At MathFest 2016, he received the Meritorious Service Award. Dr. Gruszka has contributed to the Southwestern Section for many years - he has served as Governor twice, Section Chair, was the newsletter editor for over 10 years.
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Donna Krawczyk, Senior Lecturer, Mathematics, The University of Arizona.
MAA Southwestern Section Distinguished Teaching Award for the year of 2016-2017.
Students review from her MATH 129 classes (Source: ratemyprofessors.com):
Donna is the best math teacher at UofA. I got my first A in math in several years... and its in Calc 2. Quizzes almost every lecture but they're not too bad. Tests are longish but very straightforward. Put the work in and you get good out.
This professor is wonderful! She makes math very easy to understand, and the lectures move quickly. She goes into very fine detail about writing notation which, although a pain, only helps in the end. Good math teachers are extremely hard to come by at the U.
She is the second professor I have taken calc 2 with, and by far the superior.
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Dr. Jerry Lodder, Professor of Mathematical Sciences, New Mexico State University.
Dr. Lodder received the MAA Southwestern Section's 2018 Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Lodder his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1987 and then began teaching at New Mexico State University. He became part of an effort to invigorate calculus instruction in the 1990s via student projects. He soon began to write projects based on the historical development of mathematics, not just for calculus for courses in discrete mathematics and many other areas. He is coauthor along with A. Knoebel, R. Laubenbacher, and D. Pengelley of the text MATHEMATICAL MASTERPIECES: FURTHER CHRONICLES BY THE EXPLORERS.
Dr. Lodder has been the principal investigator on four grants from the National Science Foundation for the development of curricular materials based in historical sources in mathematics. Curricular materials for discrete mathematics can be found in the article "Primary Historical Sources in the Classroom: Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science," in the on-line journal CONVERGENCE, published by the MAA. New projects from the grant "Transforming Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources" can be found on the web resource http://webpages.ursinus.edu/nscoville/TRIUMPHS.html.
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Dr. April Strom, Mathematics Faculty, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
The Southwestern Section’s Meritorious Service Awardee is Dr. April Strom. For over 20 years she has enthusiastically taught math to Community College Students. She is currently at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Chandler, AZ. For the MAA she is active in two of its special interest groups – MKT and RUME. She has served on various committees - COMET, Committee on Sessions of Contributed Papers and JMM/MAA invited Address Committee. She worked on the Instructional Practice Guide, and is current Chair of Congress for the MAA. This is only a portion of what she has done! She has also been The Southwest Vice President of AMATYC, president of ArizMATYC and is the founding chair of AMATYC’s Research Committee.
The Southwestern Section meets in Arizona every other year, and has its spring conference with ArizMATYC. Every year
Dr. Strom helps make this joint conference a success. She is an important force in bringing two organizations in the mathematics community together. She realizes we have similar goals, and more can be achieved by working together.
We all need to thank her for all the work she is doing.
Here is from Dr. Strom: I am truly honored to have been selected for this award! I would like to
express my gratitude to the MAA Southwestern Section for this nomination. I consider myself
blessed to get the opportunity to serve our students, colleagues, and community through the work
with the MAA, AMATYC, and ArizMATYC. What a fun and rewarding journey it has been!
I could not have charted out a more fulfilling career than teaching community college students.
They continue to amaze me by their perseverance, hard work, and determination in changing their
life trajectory towards a college degree. This award is for them! I look forward to future
opportunities to continue serving the MAA for the betterment of our students!
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Privious Recipients of the Southwestern Section of the MAA Award for Distingushed College or University Teaching of Mathematics. Previous Recipients and Award Guidelines.
Fan Chen, Associate Professor of Mathematics, El Paso Community College (EPCC)
The MAA Southwestern Section’s 2021 Distinguished Teaching Awardee is Fan Chen. Fan Chen is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at El Paso Community College (EPCC) in far west Texas. Fan has taught at EPCC for over 12 years and has also taught at the University of Texas at El Paso and in K-12. Originally educated and trained as a mechanical engineer, Fan changed her profession to education to help the El Paso region’s people learn problem-solving and critical thinking skills through mathematics. Fan’s biggest dream is to change the mentality and the way that teachers engage students in mathematics. She has realized over her years of teaching that she has the ability and positivity to impact her student's lives and dreams.
She keeps in touch with her students long after they complete her classes, and she continues to guide, mentor, and support
students as they continue their education and begin their professional careers.
At EPCC, Fan is involved in many groups, programs, and committees, such as serving as chair in EPCC Makerspace steering committee, curriculum committee, tenure committee, treasurer in American Woman in Community College, First Year Experience Committee, co-chair in CASP conference, Technology Resource Center trainer.
Fan's dedication to education is evident in the classroom and the community. She tirelessly leads outreach programs for local K-12 students and teachers. Fan is the founder and host of El Paso Math Teachers' Circle, a group of local K-16 math teachers who meet periodically to discuss, learn, and have fun with math. When Fan is not teaching or engaging in community
outreach, Fan volunteers with other local organizations and even formed a group of volunteers from various institutions to 3D print face masks, face shields, and ear savers. Teaching and service are in Fan's heart and DNA. It is her passion to help others succeed, and she celebrates when her students and colleagues thrive. "I am an educator; I am an engineer; I am a soul engineer. My product is El Paso's future; my project is American's future," exclaims Fan Chen.
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