Six years, six consecutive mathematics department winners of the annual William T Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence. Paulette Saab won a Kemper Fellowship in spring 2001 and Yuri Latushkin in 2000. The consecutive wins for one department is an unprecedented achievement in the 11-year history of the awards.
"The mathematics department takes great pride in its commitment to excellence in teaching, and we are all delighted with the recognition these two fine teachers have received," says department Chair Elias Saab. "Professor Latushkin is both a strong research mathematician and a talented teacher with a burning desire to communicate a love of mathematics to students."
The new awardees join a lengthy list of math winners: Ira Papick earned the title in 1999, Nakhle Asmar in 1998, Peter Casazza in 1997 and John Beem in 1996.
That was the scene this spring in Saab's classroom. When the chancellor finished his announcement, the students clapped and whistled. "I was speechless and was the only one who didn't say anything," Saab says. "We were doing areas, curves and integrals if I remember right. It was nice to see the reaction of the kids. They're a nice group."
Saab, whose specialty is functional analysis, holds doctorates from the University of Paris VI and from the University of Illinois. She came to MU in summer 1981, filling a position as visiting assistant professor, and later received a tenure-track position. She has been a professor since 1991.
"Paula is one of the finest and most dedicated teachers in the department," says colleague Casazza. "Not only does she serve as an important role model for women in mathematics, Paula also has dedicated much time and energy to increasing the number of women in mathematics and the sciences."
Saab says it's moving to hear what students say about their professors at the Kemper Awards ceremony. "It's nice to hear their perspective." Saab says she would like to see other math professors receive the honor in the future: "I know at least two other math professors who are more deserving than I of the Kemper Award."
The department's 2000 winner, Latushkin received his PhD in 1982 from Odessa University, USSR, and came to MU in 1992, where he has worked to develop a blend of the best of Russian and American teaching.
The accolades from his students indicate that he has been successful. In support of the Kemper Award, one student wrote: "...you realize that you just took a magic ride with a master of his domain, and that you just had an opportunity of a lifetime."
Latushkin has been heavily involved in a broad range of activities at MU. He taught the mass lectures for Math 80 using computer technology. He mentored an undergraduate student in the NSF-funded Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics summer research program. He organized a weekly seminar in Applied Mathematics for graduate students and faculty. He was the local coordinator for the 2000 International Internet Seminar in Applied Mathematics, taking four graduate students to the seminar in Germany. And he is the department's director of graduate studies.
