Jim Leitzel: An Appreciation
by T. Christine Stevens and Alan Tucker
Jim Leitzel's record of service in collegiate mathematics education was
second to none. He was a member of the writing team for virtually every
report in this area in the 1990's. He chaired the major education
committees of the Mathematical Association of America: the Committee on the
Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM), the Committee on the Teaching
of Undergraduate Mathematics (CTUM), and the Committee on the Mathematical
Education of Teachers (COMET). Under his leadership, COMET worked
effectively with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to produce
A Call for Change, recommendations for teacher preparation
consistent with the goals of the (then new) NCTM Standards.
But Jim Leitzel's "MAA resumé" only hints at the impact Jim had on
collegiate mathematics and the national community of scholars working to
improve mathematics instruction. Jim was hard-working, conscientious to a
fault, and selfless. Working with Jim on any endeavor was always a joy.
Part of the joy came from his enthusiasm and continual high spirits, which
Jim imparted to his collaborators. Part of the joy came from the "high",
like a runner's high, that a well-done, team effort of hard work produces.
Most important, joy came from just being in the presence of such a fine
human being.
Our interactions with Jim were all at professional meetings. We never saw
him in a classroom. Yet his caring for students was evident in everything
he did and said. While CUPM was the MAA's most famous committee, Jim
seemed more interested in the efforts that he oversaw as chair of the
committees concerned with teaching students (CTUM) and preparing students
to be teachers (COMET).
Project NExT,
his greatest joy, involves nurturing young faculty.
In retrospect, it seems only natural that the talents of someone like Jim,
who gave so unstintingly to the mathematical community, should find their
fullest expression in a project like NExT, which welcomes new faculty into
that community. Jim was truly the cornerstone of Project NExT. His
organizational efficiency, his encyclopedic knowledge of mathematics
education reform, his incredible work ethic, his amazing ability to learn
people's names -- all of these combined with Jim's genuine love for people
to make Project NExT the success that it is. He took an unaffected delight
in the Fellows' companionship and in their accomplishments, and it was
wonderful to witness that delight and to share it with him. Most
remarkable of all was the joy that Jim, who so rightfully prided himself on
his attention to details, found in letting go and letting Project NExT take
on a life of its own.
Even in the midst of their grief, Jim's friends began to talk about
establishing a memorial to his contributions to the mathematical community,
and we have no doubt that a suitable project will be chosen. Yet the most
important memorial to Jim may be one that already exists. As one of the
Project NExT Fellows remarked in a recent issue of the Young Mathematicians
Network newsletter, "As a result [of Project NExT], the professional
careers of many young faculty members have been launched along a trajectory
concerned with issues and innovations in teaching. I estimate that most of
the recent Ph.D.s in academic positions have a 'Leitzel number' of 1 or 2
-- meaning that they or someone they know has had their career directly
influenced by Jim Leitzel." Another Fellow put it this way:
I have no doubt, with Jim's big heart, that he has performed
a million deeds of kindness, but by itself, the one simple
act of creating Project NExT gives me cause to marvel -- Jim
has not only touched hundreds of lives but has changed the
way mathematics is lived out and taught across the country.
Truly one can say of Jim Leitzel, that builder of mathematical communities,
what was said of another great builder, Christopher Wren: If you seek his
monument, look around you. You will find it in the lives and careers of
the Project NExT Fellows.
A central tenet of much instructional rethinking in collegiate mathematics
is that how you teach is as important as what you teach. Jim's legacy to
the mathematical community reflects this tenet. Much though his
educational projects and their reports influenced current instructional
practices, it was not merely what he did that his friends will long
remember, but, even more, how he did it.
An effort is currently underway to raise funds in order to endow a lecture fund which would sponsor a yearly lecture in honor of Jim Leitzel. The proposal has been approved by the MAA Board of Governors contingent on sufficient funds being raised. For more information, see the Leitzel Fund Page or contact Lisa Kolbe at MAA Headquarters.
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