Mathematics Association of America
Southern California-Nevada Section

Teaching Awards

The Section Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics honor college or university teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. Recipients of the section awards then become nominees for the national Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.

2009 Section Teaching Award Recipient: Curtis Bennett
Call for Nominations for the 2010 Section Teaching Award
Past recipients
National MAA Teaching Awards

Alder Award for faculty with 2 to 7 years of experience
Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching

2009 Recipient: Curtis Bennett

Curtis Bennet's address at the Fall 2009 Section Meeting

The Southern California-Nevada Section of the MAA is pleased to announce that Professor Curtis Bennett of Loyola Marymount University has received its 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Bennett's students describe him as energetic and enthusiastic, passionate, selfless, sincere, and patient. They often credit him not just for increased mathematical skills, but also for increased self-confidence.

Dr. Bennett's reputation as an excellent teacher extends well beyond the boundaries of LMU. He has gained national and international prominence as a two-time Carnegie Scholar, has led two PMET Workshops (Preparing Mathematicians to Educate Teachers), and has presented the mini-course, A Beginners Guide to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Dr. Bennett received his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1990 in the area of groups and geometries. Since then he has held positions at Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, and Bowling Green State University, and he is currently Professor and Chair of the Mathematics Department at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He has published over 30 articles in mathematics and in the scholarship of teaching and learning mathematics. Dr. Bennett was the co-editor of the book Starting Our Careers with Annalisa Crannell and was a founding editor of the Young Mathematicians Network.

Bennett will receive the prestigious Franklin and Deborah Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching, awarded to three MAA members each year, at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco in January of 2010.

Nomination Form

pdf file

This file includes a 1-page preliminary nomination form, which, together with a 2-page letter, comprises the initial nomination.

The file also includes instructions for the more extensive full nomination, required only for those selected to be finalists.

Call for Nominations for 2010 Section Teaching Award

by Shawn McMurran, Section Secretary, Cal State San Bernardino

Preliminary nominations for the 18th annual MAA Southern California-Nevada Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics are now being accepted. The initial nomination consists of a one-page form and a 1-2 page description of the candidate's qualities and teaching successes. From the initial nominees, the selection committee will choose two to three semi-finalists. Each nominator will then be asked to complete a full nomination for the semi-finalist. Upon receipt of the full nomination, semi-finalists will automatically become finalists. Each finalist will receive an official letter of commendation from the Chair of the Section, which will be copied to the candidate's department chair and dean. The selection committee will choose the winner from the pool of finalists. Finalists who are not selected will automatically have their full applications considered the following year for the Section award.

The winner of the award will be recognized at the Spring 2010 Meeting of the MAA Southern California-Nevada Section. The awardee will also be the official Section nominee for the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. Successful nominees are individuals who are widely recognized for their extraordinarily successful teaching effectiveness and for teaching that has had influence beyond their own institutions.

To be eligible, nominees must

be current MAA members,
teach mathematical science courses at least half-time during the academic year, and
have at least seven years experience teaching at the college or university level.

If you have an eligible and qualified colleague in your department, we urge you to nominate her/him so that s/he may be considered for the award.

Initial application deadline is Wednesday, November 4, 2009. Questions? Contact Shawn McMurran at smcmurra@csusb.edu.

Past Recipients

Follow the link for more information about past recipients.

2008 Bruce Yoshiwara (Pierce College)
2007 Jonathan McCammond (UCSB)
2006 Asuman Aksoy (CMC)
2005 Jacqueline Dewar (LMU)
2004 Rebecca Head (Bakersfield College)
2003 Mark Finkelstein (UC Irvine)
2002 Judy Grabiner (Pitzer)
2001 Jennifer Quinn (Occidental)
2000 Tom O'Neil (Cal Poly, SLO)

Alder Award

The Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member honors beginning college or university faculty whose teaching has been extraordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms. Read more...

Haimo Award

The Haimo Award Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics honors college or university teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. Read more...

Who Qualifies?