Louise Hay Award

2015 Winner: T. Christine Stevens

Citation:

The 2015 Louise Hay Award is presented to T. Christine Stevens, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Saint Louis University, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of mathematics.  Christine received her Ph. D. from Harvard University under the direction of Andrew Gleason. She was co-founder and co-director, with James Leitzel, of Project NExT, a professional development program of the MAA for faculty in their first two years of full-time teaching.

She was the sole director of Project NExT during 1998-2009, gradually adding recent NExT fellows and others to the leadership team. More than 1000 new faculty members participated in Project NExT under her leadership, about half of them women. Approximately 400 other faculty have been involved with Project NExT as consultants and workshop presenters. Many fellows have gone on to win teaching awards of their own, often citing Project NExT as a factor in their success.

Her contributions to mathematics education are manifold. She has impacted national science policy through her service as an AMS/MAA/SIAM Congressional Science Fellow, her chairing of the MAA’s Science Policy Committee, and her service on the SIAM Science Policy Committee. She was an Associate Program Director for the Teacher Enhancement Program at NSF. She has been a strong advocate for expanding opportunities for underrepresented groups as a member of the MAA Committee on Minority Participation in Mathematics and on many other committees.

Response from T. Christine Stevens:

It is somewhat embarrassing to admit that I do not remember when I first joined the Association for Women in Mathematics.  What I do clearly recall is the vital role that AWM played for me when I first started attending the Joint Mathematics Meetings, where it sponsored outstanding lectures and provided inspiration, encouragement, and interesting company for women mathematicians.  Little did I expect that, thirty five years later, I would be receiving an award from the very organization that had so greatly impressed me at the outset of my career.  It is an immense honor for me to join the list of eminent mathematicians and mathematics educators who have received the Louise Hay Award.

I am grateful to the AWM for this award and to those who worked with me in shaping Project NExT: Jim Leitzel, Joe Gallian, Aparna Higgins, Judith Covington, and Gavin La Rose.  It is a special treat to be recognized for doing work that was, in fact, a lot of fun.  Most of all, I am grateful to the Project NExT Fellows, whose dedication to mathematical research and education not only mirrors the interests of Louise Hay, but also fills me with optimism about the future of our profession.