The Math Department recognizes excellence in teaching by graduate students every year with five different teaching awards, including three that honor former Michigan faculty and one honoring a former PhD student. Read more below about the amazing people these awards honor.
Pat Shure Excellence in Teaching Award
Pat Shure was a Senior Lecturer in our department for decades after completing her BS and MS in math here in 1958 and 1960, respectively. Hired as Math and Science Director of the CSP program in 1982, Pat was later instrumental in developing our Professional Development Program (now known as “instructor training”) that all students and postdocs go through upon arrival the entire week before they teach their first UM math class. Together with Professors Al Taylor and Mort Brown, Pat Shure led the “reform” of Michigan Calculus that is so well-known around the country now. In addition to running our entire Introductory program essentially single-handedly, Pat was also an important mentor to our graduate students. For example, Doug Shaw (UM PhD 1995) reports that Pat thwarted his intention to drop out with the humorous sentence “Oh for Heaven’s sake, Doug, many students dumber than you have finished!” which is exactly what Doug needed to hear at that moment. Pat Shure was a winner of the AWM Lousia Hay award for her efforts to increase the representation of women in mathematics. Now that she is retired, she spends her time traveling, working on environmental issues, supporting political candidates, and co-authoring math textbooks. But her real passion is running the math program for Girls Group, a local organization whose mission is to help middle and high school girls graduate from high school and become first-generation college graduates.
Karen Rhea Excellence in Teaching Award Karen Rhea was a senior lecturer in math from 2001 until her retirement in 2015, working tirelessly as a supervisor and mentor for all postdocs and graduate students in the Introductory Program. In 2011, she was awarded the Haimo Award for DistinguishedCollege or University Teaching by the American Mathematical Association for her work in our Intro program, which was widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and to have had influence beyond our own institution.
Mort Brown Excellence in Teaching Award Mort Brown is a professor emeritus and award-winning topologist who came to the University of Michigan in 1962, where he remained until his retirement. In the 1980’s, Brown led the “Calculus Reform” movement at Michigan. His work on undergraduate mathematical education, specifically Math115 and Math 116, has been widely copied around the nation.
The Golden Stapler Award The Golden Stapler Award was established by Alan Stapledon (UM Math PhD 2009) to recognize graduate student with exceptional patience in the face of the question “Can I borrow a stapler?” Alan is now at the University of Sydney.
University of Michigan Mathematics Department Outstanding GSI Award The oldest and most prestigious of our teaching awards, given to the “most outstanding” GSI each year.
