AMATYC 2006 Mathematics Excellence Award Recipient Karen Sharp

At the annual conference in Cincinnati , President Kathy Mowers recognized Professor Karen Sharp of Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan, with the AMATYC Mathematics Excellence Award. This award is given every two years to an educator who has made outstanding contributions to mathematics or mathematics education at the two-year college. Selection criteria include national reputation, leadership and activities in professional organizations, awards, grants, publications, professional activities on a regional, state, and national scale, and other contributions to mathematics education.

Professor Sharp, who has taught at Mott Community College for more than 30 years, has been an innovator as an instructor and an early adopter of computer and calculator technology. She developed materials to help her colleagues learn to use these tools.

Karen has been extremely active in AMATYC and served on the AMATYC Board in five different positions - regional vice president, treasurer, president-elect, president and past president - for a total of 14 years! Her interpersonal skills, inclusive nature, tact, and persistence lead to the creation of the Coordinating Board of AMATYC, MAA and NCTM. This was the first real effort to bring these three organizations together in a cooperative manner to address critical issues impacting all levels of mathematics education. She was the project director of AMATYC's first Summer Institute at Ricks College . This institute was initially funded through AMATYC's first grant that was awarded by the Sloan Foundation.

During her term as AMATYC President, efforts to write the standards were begun. Professor Sharp served as Co-Principal Investigator for the Crossroads project and in that role made major contributions to the process and the resulting document that was released in 1995.

Congratulations to Professor Karen Sharp for her many contributions to two-year college mathematics.