Spitznagel: Haimo award winner
By Tony Fitzpatrick
August 31, 2001
Edward L. Spitznagel Jr., Ph.D., professor of mathematics in Arts & Sciences, has been named recipient of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.
Spitznagel: Haimo award winner |
The award is given by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and is considered to be one of the organization's most prestigious awards. Spitznagel will attend a special prize session Jan. 7 in San Diego, where he will be honored by the MAA and give a short talk on teaching.
"This award of the MAA is perhaps the most prestigious math teaching award in the country, and our whole department knows that Ed richly deserves it," said Steven Krantz, Ph.D., professor and chair of mathematics. "We all extend our hearty congratulations to Ed Spitznagel for bringing this honor both on himself and on our department. The fact that Frank Haimo taught in our department for many years and that Debbie Haimo taught at the University of Missouri-St. Louis makes the recognition that much more special."
In 1991, the MAA instituted awards for distinguished college or university teaching of mathematics in order to honor teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. In 1993, the MAA Board of Governors renamed the award to honor Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo; Deborah Tepper Haimo was president of the MAA in 1991-92.
Spitznagel, who earned a bachelor of science degree from Xavier University and his master of science and doctorate in mathematics degrees from the University of Chicago, is in his 32nd year with Washington University's Department of Mathematics, having joined the faculty in 1969 as associate professor.
From his first year, Spitznagel has changed and improved most of the courses he has taught, resulting in tremendous increases in enrollment. His transformation of the elementary statistics course, for example, increased enrollment from about 15 students his first year to nearly 300 and led to the development of five new, more advanced statistics courses.
In addition to his teaching, Spitznagel also has contributed to the quality of education in the University at large. Since the early 1970s, he has worked with admissions directors on analyzing student applicant data in an effort to maintain the high-quality student body, and in the mid-1970s he helped to resurrect and restructure the course-evaluation system. Also, it was his proposal that led to automatic student access to the University's computer mainframe.
Spitznagel consults nationwide on educational, statistical and social issues and incorporates his broad knowledge base into his teaching.
The MAA award citation in part reads:
"Ed Spitznagel packs his lively lectures with real-world applications; students regularly oversubscribe his courses. He applies statistics to research in many fields and uses his experience in developing new teaching materials. He makes innovative use of the computer in his classroom.
"With remarkable energy, Spitznagel collaborates with investigators in such diverse fields as medicine, pharmacology, marketing, engineering and psychology. His breadth of scholarship and his feeling for the practical find immediate application to his teaching. In fact, he considers his research and teaching seamless. In Spitznagel's own words, 'Because what I publish addresses problems in the world, there is no problem bringing it to the classroom.'
"Here is one example of his approach. When the department decided to create a calculus sequence for pre-med students, Spitznagel devised a course based on research in pharmacokinetics that introduces students to both statistical and calculus techniques in medicine. It has been received enthusiastically both by students and their pre-med advisers."
Spitznagel has been the recipient of student recognition on several occasions, having received the Council of Students of Arts & Sciences teaching award three times, in 1979, 1982 and 1993, as well as having received the 1986 Homecoming Award.
In 1989, he received a faculty achievement award from the Burlington Northern Foundation for outstanding teaching and contributions to undergraduate education. In 2000, Spitznagel received the MAA-Missouri Award for Distinguished Teaching; winning the regional award qualified him for the MAA Haimo award.
| Email Us! |
Washington People |
Sports | Calendar | More Campus News |
Campus Watch |
| Medical News |
Notables | Record Staff |
Front Page | WU Home Page |