For the second consecutive year the mathematics department has a Kemper Fellowship winner for Teaching Excellence.
Professor Peter Casazza was stunned into silence as the chancellor, dean and department chair opened the door to his classroom and walked in with an entourage of broadcast and print media, a lighting technician and boom microphone operator.
"I'm speechless," the usually talkative Casazza said as Chancellor Richard Wallace announced the gift. Seven of this year's 10 Kemper Fellows teach in the College of Arts & Science. Mathematics Professor John Beem was a 1996 winner.
Casazza's students stopped taking an exam to listen to Kemper trustee Bob Hammerschmidt explain that Casazza is considered one of the finest calculus teachers, who has an ability to make the subject understandable.
Casazza starts each of his classes with a mathematics demonstration that shows in a dramatic way the underlying principles of the material the students will study that day. Most students praise these demonstrations in their course evaluations.
Chancellor Wallace commented on Casazza's long teaching days that normally begin in his office at 3 a.m.
"I'm still speechless," Casazza said. "I should think of something intelligent to say. I really am honored."
After the presentations, Casazza's class delivered an enthusiastic round of applause and the chancellor said the group would leave so the students could get back to their test. Casazza stepped into the hallway to collect his thoughts.
"I'm still shaking. Normally I'm not speechless," he said. "I'm one of the biggest talkers on campus, and I don't know what to say. I had to report on John Beem receiving this award. I was very impressed with the quality of people receiving the award. Then to turn around and receive it is humbling."
Casazza has taught a variety of courses at MU, including the upper-level graduate analysis and research courses. He joined the faculty in 1983 and has become known as an outstanding teacher and a promoter of outstanding teaching. His mission to improve the teaching of mathematics has taken him across the nation and around the world speaking to numerous organizations on the theme that mathematics can and should be interesting. He has published several articles on fun math topics and has contributed a chapter to a book of math projects for gifted high school students, which was published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Casazza is a dedicated scholar who held the competitive and prestigious Distinguished DeFoe Chair in Mathematics from 1987 to 1990. He has published widely and has delivered 160 invited addresses on his research in more than 100 universities and institutes around the world.
He has received 15 years of continuous funding from the National Science Foundation and numerous grants from other organizations. He served as a research scholar at the Danish Research Foundation in 1995 and the University of Cambridge from 1990 to 1991. He has held fellowships from the National Academy of Sciences and NDEA.
The Kemper Fellowships were created in 1991 with a $500,000 gift from the William T. Kemper Foundation to honor 10 outstanding MU teachers each year for five years. In 1995, the foundation extended the program into the year 2000 with another $500,000 gift. Kemper, a 1926 graduate, was a well-known civic leader in Kansas City. Six other Kemper winners from the College include Bill Bondeson, philosophy and family and community medicine; Meera Chandrasekhar, physics; Larry Kantner, art and art education; Kerby Miller, history; Helen Neville, psychology; and Michael Porter, communication.