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Certificates of Meritorious Service, 1999

Certificates of Meritorious Service, 1999

The Certificates of Meritorious Service are presented for service to the MAA at the national level or for service to a Section of the Association. The first such awards were made in 1984. At each January meeting of the Association, honorees from roughly six Sections are recognized.

The 1999 Certificates of Meritorious Service go to:

Billy E. Rhoades, Indiana Section

Citation

Billy E. Rhoades joined the MAA in 1952 when he was a graduate student at Rutgers University. The Rutgers Mathematics Department Head at that time -- Emory Starke, who played a prominent role during the first half of the decade of the MAA -- would have been proud to foresee the accomplishments and service record of Professor Rhoades, who retired as Professor of Mathematics at Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1994 with a distinguished and continuing record of mathematical research and contributions to mathematics education.

Billy was a member of the Philadelphia Section (now the EPADEL Section) of the MAA for 10 years while he was a faculty member at Lafayette College, which he left in 1963 to join the Committee on the Undergraduate Preparation in Mathematics (CUPM). He served CUPM full-time during two crucial years, first as Associate Director and then as Executive Director, until 1965 when he went to Indiana.

While in Indiana, Professor Rhoades continued to serve the MAA at the national level through numerous committee and panel appointments including CUPM, the Committee on Placement Exams, the committee on Advisement and Personnel, and the Committee on Membership as well as joint appointments with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the College Entrance Examination Board. A tireless supporter of the Indiana Section, Billy held the positions of Section vice-chair and chair from 1967 to 1969 and Section governor from 1969 to 1972. He is always willing to do committee work within the Section and to make presentations at Section meetings. His exceptional service to the Indiana Section was recognized previously when he received the Section's Distinguished Service Award in 1994.

It is with great pleasure and gratitude that the Indiana Section awards this Certificate of Meritorious Service to Billy E. Rhoades of Indiana University, Bloomington.

Response from Professor Rhoades

It is with great pleasure that I accept this award. I am grateful both to the MAA for establishing the Certificate of Meritorious Service, and to my colleagues in the Indiana Section for finding me worthy to be so honored.

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Charles Alexander, Louisiana-Mississippi Section

Citation

The Louisiana-Mississippi Section nominates Charles C. Alexander, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Mississippi, for the Section's Meritorious Service Award. Charles Alexander served as governor of the Section from July 1995 to July 1998. His service to the Section includes many activities: chair of the Section, 1990-91; vice-chair, 1989-90; and co-chair, Mathematicians Concerned Committee, 1992-93. He has been a Section member for 25 years. At the national level, Charles Alexander has been a member of the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM), the Committee on Calculus Reform and the First Two Years (CRAFTY), the Strengthening Under-represented Mathematics Minority Achievement (SUMMAC) project, and was an Interactive Mathematics Text Workshop leader in 1993-94.

He has served on the Mississippi Mathematics, Science, and Technology Coalition as chair, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Mississippi Teachers of College Mathematics. He has been director of the Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education (IMAGE) program of the Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation and contributed to the Delta Rural Systemic Initiative.

Dr. Alexander received his doctorate from the University of Kansas in 1968 and joined the Department of Mathematics at the University of Mississippi in 1971. He has been active in research in the areas of topology and graph theory.

Response from Professor Alexander

I am humbled and delighted to be recognized with this award. I have been privileged to have so many opportunities to serve in a variety of capacities. Since I believe that the primary role in my professional and personal life is to serve others, each opportunity for service has been its own reward. To be recognized by my peers in this manner is beyond any expectation and is deeply appreciated.

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Randall Heckman, Nebraska-Southeast South Dakota Section

Citation

Dr. Randall Heckman graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1971. Since that time he has been a member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Kearney State University (which is now the University of Nebraska-Kearney). Since that time Randy has been played a very important role in the Mathematics Department in Kearney. He has actively participated in all aspects of curriculum development and is never too busy to help anyone with a mathematical problem. Due to his devotion to mathematics and his relentless pursuit of mathematical perfection, Randy is currently a Professor of Mathematics and Statistics and the Chair of the Department.

Randy's service to mathematics is extensive. In addition to serving the Department and the University well, Randy has served to Mathematical Association of America as the chair of our Section in 1981-82, Section governor in 1987-89, and presently serves as our Section's secretary-treasurer since 1994. His list of Section offices does not however tell the whole story. Randy is a very active supporter of our Section and always attends the meetings. He actively participates in all aspects of Section affairs. His constant enthusiasm spills over to others and has become contagious. Randy truly exemplifies the ideal MAA member. His service to mathematics and to the MAA is never ending.

The Nebraska-Southeastern South Dakota Section, in appreciation for Randy's dedicated service, is proud to award Professor Randall K. Heckman with the Distinguished Service Award for 1999.

Response from Professor Heckman

Although I am very appreciative of being nominated and approved for the MAA Certificate of Meritorious Service, at the same time I find the experience to be very humbling. It has been my pleasure to be actively associated with the Nebraska-Southeast South Dakota Section of the MAA for the past 27 years, and I hope to continue my active association with the MAA for many years to come. Particularly gratifying for me have been the many friendships in the mathematical community that I have made over the past 27 years.

It is a true honor for me to be nominated for the Certificate of Meritorious Service, and I would like to express my thanks to the members of my Section for this nomination.

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David Kullman, Ohio Section

Citation

The officers of the Ohio Section have selected Professor David Kullman of Miami University, Oxford, for the Meritorious Service Award this year. Dr. Kullman served the Ohio Section as a governor and liaison coordinator from 1994 through 1997. He was president of the Section in 1991-92. He co-authored the Ohio Section History, which was published in 1990. Dave has served as our liaison with the Ohio Math and Science Coalition since its inception. He has been the local arrangements coordinator for several Section meetings and he contributes talks to the Section meetings on a regular basis, including the Spring 1998 meeting. Dave has served on many Section committees and he has chaired our Committee on Teacher Education and Certification (CONTEAC). He has also served as an informal liaison with the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) for many years. Dave was instrumental in the implementation and continuation of the Annual Mathematics and Statistics Conference at Miami University, which is now in its twenty-sixth year. For the aforementioned reasons, the Sections is pleased to nominate Dr. David Kullman for the MAA Meritorious Service Award for 1998.

Response from Professor Kullman

In my thirty years as a member of the Ohio Section, I have acquired many excellent teaching ideas and been stimulated mathematically by numerous outstanding speakers and authors. Most importantly, I have come to know many other mathematicians as professional colleagues and personal friends. Whatever service I have rendered to the Section and the Association has been a small repayment for the countless benefits I have received. I feel proud and deeply honored to be awarded this Certificate of Meritorious Service, and I look forward to many more years of active membership in the MAA.

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Marcellus Waddill, Southeastern Section

Citation

Professor Waddill has served the Southeastern Section well for many years and in many capacities. He may hold the record for continuous service on the Nominating Committee of five years, chairing the committee for three of those five years. Marcellus also chaired the Local Arrangements Committee for the Section's 1985 meeting at Wake Forest University. We all know Marcellus as a constant supporter of the Section and a promoter of college-level mathematics. He is a role model of the complete mathematician: researcher, teacher, and outstanding supporter for our mathematical community. He has always been ready and willing to assume any task that needed doing. We congratulate Marcellus especially for his outstanding work in the position of Southeastern Section secretary-treasurer for six years, 1990-96.

For most of the history of our Section, the secretary- treasurer was the one who did the real work to keep the Section going. Chairs served for one-year terms and their principal task was presiding at the annual meeting, which was the only business of the Section. The secretary-treasurer put together the program, coordinated with the local host, oversaw schedules and deadlines, produced and distributed all meeting announcements, and communicated with the national office. In addition, the secretary- treasurer supervised the MAA table and book sales at the Section's annual meeting, and maintained the finances of the Section. Further, during Marcellus' tenure as our secretary-treasurer, the MAA initiated many new activities. With each new activity, Marcellus' job description expanded to include the necessary reports and other communications between the Section, the MAA, and those in the Section charged with implementing these projects.

Most other Sections long ago separated the task of organizing the program from the job of secretary-treasurer. The Southeastern Section is the largest of the MAA Sections, has the largest and most complex meetings, but had not done so until recently. For five of his six years as secretary-treasurer, Marcellus served both duties, at a time in the history of the MAA and our Section when both were truly major responsibilities. Marcellus handled all these tasks with the same outstanding ability and grace that he always shows. With the passage of our amended bylaws in 1997, our Section created the position of program chair, thus providing Marcellus' successors with the relief that he did not enjoy.

Those charged with the business of the Section, particularly our Section chairs, have welcomed Marcellus' advice and assistance many times in their work. They have always been impressed by the quiet way he has of being helpful with a gentle touch. Through it all, Marcellus has been the ultimate exemplar of integrity and professional courtesy.

Therefore, we honor Marcellus Waddill, for doing so much, for performing these tasks so well, and for being a long-time active supporter of the Southeastern Section and a friend to all of our members.

Response from Professor Waddill

It is a signal honor to have been selected by the Southeastern Section and the Board of Governors of the MAA for the 1999 Meritorious Service Award. I am genuinely grateful. My immediate feelings are those of appreciation to the many extraordinary individuals whom I have come to know in the MAA during the past 37 years and particularly to those in the Southeastern Section who have befriended and supported me during these years, many of whom have served as marvelous role models. If I have done something worthwhile for the MAA, it has been a privilege and a pleasure as well as a tribute to the many who have gone ahead to show the way. I name only three, the previous winners of the Meritorious Service Award in the Southeastern Section: Billy Bryant, Vanderbilt University; Ivey Gentry (1919- 1998), Wake Forest University, and John Neff, Georgia Tech. I could have no better mentors than these men who helped me in myriad ways, but, most importantly, they were (are) my friends. Ivey Gentry is special because he hired me as a faculty member at Wake Forest in 1962 and was my boss for 20 years in addition to being my friend, supporter, leader, and teacher. When Ivey was presented with the Meritorious Service Award in 1990 at the meeting in Phoenix, he said, "My greatest honor in the Section was when I was chosen to receive the Meritorious Service Award." I am unable to improve that statement.

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