Dr. Anne Duffee, Sewanee: The University of the South: 2024 MAA Southeastern Section Distinguished Teaching Award Recipient
Dr. Duffee approaches teaching holistically, incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives and creating a classroom where curiosity thrives and barriers to learning are removed. Her teaching style is characterized by humility, wisdom, and unwavering support. As an ambassador for innovative assessment, she works with her university’s center for teaching and learning to provide opportunities for faculty from across campus to explore alternative grading techniques that recognize mistakes as opportunities for growth.
Dr. Duffee’s commitment to standards-based grading reflects not only her values but also her desire to instill resilience and persistence in her students. Her colleague noted,” she is wise and sees how failing is an essential part of learning. She is supportive and encourages persistence. She rejoices in seeing her students learn, and they sense it and are motivated by it.” Dr. Duffee’s students also recognize the benefits of her approach. One student noted, “this was the most difficult class I had this semester in terms of content, but it was also the most enjoyable, which I largely attribute to the excellence of Profesor Duffee’s pedagogy. It didn’t occur to me until a quarter of the way through the semester how well the structure of this class facilitated learning while minimizing anxiety.”
Letters of support from colleagues emphasize Dr. Duffee’s role as a leader in her department, her commitment to the liberal arts setting, and her exceptional ability to connect with students. Her students consistently stress her talent in translating complex concepts into relatable examples and her dedication to creating a safe and empowering learning environment. Dr. Duffee’s passion for teaching, commitment to students, and leadership in innovative pedagogy make her an exemplary educator.
Dr. Hwayeon Ryu, Elon University: 2024 MAA Southeastern Section Distinguished Teaching Award by a Beginning College Mathematics Faculty Member Recipient
Dr. Ryu’s mission as an educator and applied mathematician is described by colleagues as follows: to help students explore the power of mathematics through real-world applications arising from various disciplines, grow as future leaders, and develop their passions and skills — thus enhancing understanding of and impact upon the world.
To support her teaching goals, Dr. Ryu has developed innovative teaching materials, strategies, and practices, which includes implementing real-world applications and project-based learning into Calculus I. A colleague notes,
“she understands the balance between the authenticity of the examples and the difficulty spiral that comes with real problems….It requires a great deal of investment for even an applied mathematician to pull this material from various sources and prepare it to be helpful in class.”
Dr. Ryu’s research, which involves discrete structures, differential equations and numerical analysis, enables her to integrate her scholarship into designing materials in advanced courses.
Dr. Ryu is also noted by colleagues and students for promoting growth mindset and productive struggles in the classroom. A former student noted,
“In assessing my own work, I have learned to embrace struggle and mistakes in general seeing as though they are an inevitable part of life. By including this self-assessment task I was able to focus more on the mental aspect of learning…”
Outside the classroom, Dr. Ryu is an active research mentor. Working in the intersection of mathematics and biology, she has advised 13 students from her institution and 3 from another institution in her state. The students have presented their work regionally and nationally. She also co-organized the 2022 Integrating Research in Science conference for undergraduates, which was attended by 15 regional institutions. The meeting offered students an opportunity to promote research, network, and create a stronger sense of community. Dr. Ryu’s grants, which includes a Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics grant and an NSF grant, broaden her opportunities to mentor students and teach outside the classroom.
Dr. Ryu’s passion for teaching, commitment to enhancing educational experiences, and active mentorship, which educates outside the classroom, make her an exemplary educator.
Dr. Karen O’Hara, High Point University: 2024 MAA Southeastern Section Distinguished Service Award Recipient
Karen O’Hara has been actively involved in formal service to the section since 2006. She began her work with the section as editor of the newsletter, a position she held for 4 years. During that time, she also began service as Co-Director of our section Project NExT, a position she held for 8 years. She currently serves as the Director of Student Activities, a position she has held since 2016.
As you can tell, she has chosen to serve in labor intensive roles over her years of involvement, a testament to her commitment to truly serving the section members and our students. I have worked with Karen for many of these years and find her to be a diligent participant in section leadership and a delight to work with. But don’t just take it from me!
One colleague says, “Karen has put a lot of work in for the section and it is work that has had a great payoff over very many years. When we have overlapped on the Executive Committee, her counsel has been sound.”
Another recounts working with Karen for the student poster session. She says, “Karen diligently sought faculty judges and made our jobs easy.” If you’ve ever coordinated a poster session, you know finding and preparing judges can be a time consuming and somewhat thankless task. But as our recommender notes, which is true for all the work Karen does, “she always does it with smiles and lots of patience.”
We are delighted to present Dr. O’Hara with the 2024 MAA-SE Distinguished Service award.