AMATYC Mathematics Excellence Award
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the AMATYC Mathematics Excellence Award? The American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges Mathematics Excellence Award (the “ME Award”) is intended for educators who have made outstanding contributions to mathematics or mathematics education at the two-year college. When is the ME Award made? This recognition of excellence may be made every two years, at the annual conference held in even-numbered years. What are the criteria used to select a recipient? Award criteria are: national reputation, leadership and activities in professional organizations, professional talks and presentations, awards and grants received, publications, professional activities on a regional, state, and national scale, teaching expertise, and other contributions to mathematics and/or mathematics education. Who reviews nominees? A committee from each of the eight AMATYC regions is elected at the annual conference in even-numbered years. The committee is chaired through the completion of its work by the person who is the past-president at that time. This committee reviews nominee packets based upon the criteria cited above, and presents the top three candidates to the AMATYC Executive Board. The Executive Board selects the individual, if any, to receive the award, from the three top candidates. Who may be nominated? Any person who the nominator feels has “made outstanding contributions to mathematics or mathematics education at the two-year college” and has achieved a wide-spread reputation in this respect except: Current board members are ineligible to be nominated Former board members are ineligible until at least two years have elapsed since leaving the board. Who may nominate? Any interested person may submit a letter of nomination. Members of AMATYC may nominate themselves. The nominator is responsible for securing documents to support the nomination. The nominees will NOT be informed by the committee chair that they have been nominated. What about the letters of recommendation? At least one letter of recommendation should be from outside the nominee’s AMATYC region. Letters of support that elaborate on those qualities mentioned in the résumé or point out additional exemplary characteristics of the nominee are more helpful to the committee than letters that reiterate items mentioned in the résumé. Board members and members of the ME Award Committee may not write letters of recommendation for any candidate. AMATYC 2006 Mathematics Excellence Award. What constitutes a complete nomination? A complete nomination includes the four items listed in the checklist below, received by the deadline, Friday November 2, 2007. Incomplete nominations will not be distributed to the committee. Checklist for a complete nomination Nominee’s résumé – must not exceed 3 pages. Pages in excess of 3 pages will not be distributed to the committee. Letter of support* which is also the letter of nomination Letter of support* Letter of support* *At least one of the letters should be from a region other than the nominee’s AMATYC region. The regions are defined as follows: Region 1 – Northeast CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT; NB, NL, NS, ON, PE, QC Region 2 – Mid-Atlantic DE, DC, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV Region 3 – Southeast AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, PR, VI & Caribbean Islands Region 4 – Midwest IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, WI Region 5 – Central AK, CO, IA, KA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, UT, WY; MB, SK Region 6 – Southwest AZ, NM, OK, TX; Mexico Region 7 – Northwest AK, ID, MT, OR, WA; AB, BC, NT, NU, YT, & International Region 8 – West CA, HI, NV Selection Criteria The criteria used by the selection committee are based on rankings of the following • National reputation 20 points • Leadership and activities in professional organizations 20 points • Professional talks and presentations 10 points • Awards and grants received 10 points • Publication 10 points • Professional activities on a regional, state, and national scale 10 points • Teaching expertise 15 points • Other contributions to mathematics and/or mathematics education 5 points The ME Award Committee Past President Judy E. Ackerman, Chair The ME Award Committee is composed of the past-president and a representative from each region elected at the regional meetings at the annual conference in even numbered years. The 2006-2008 ME Award Committee will be elected at the 2006 Annual AMATYC Conference in Cincinnati. Region Member 1. Northeast Jodi Cotton 2. Mid-Atlantic Louise Olshan 3. Southeast Martha Goshaw 4. Midwest Larisa Russell 5. Central Linda Hoppe 6. Southwest Joanne Peeples 7. Northwest Kit Arbuckle 8. West Gregory Daubenmire How are Selectees and Non-Selectees Notified? After the AMATYC Executive Board makes the decision at its spring 2008 Board meeting, the AMATYC President notifies the selectee, if any, and the ME Award Committee Chair notifies the nominators of non-selectees. Non-selectees are not notified directly. Who Are The Past Winners? 1984 Phil Cheifetz Nassau Community College Garden City, NY 1985 Don Albers Menlo College Atherton, CA 1986 Jean Burr Smith Middlesex Community College Middletown, CT 1988 Peter Lindstrom North Lake College Irving, TX 1990 Warren Page New York City Technical College Brooklyn, NY 1992 Stephen Rodi Austin Community College Austin, TX 1994 Dale Ewen Parkland College Champaign, IL 1996 Wade Ellis, Jr. West Valley College Saratoga, CA 1998 Greg Foley Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX 2002 Susan L. Forman Bronx Community College New York, NY 2004 Marilyn Mays North Lake College Irving, TX 2006 Karen Sharp Mott Community College Flint, MI