Dr. Francis Jones receives distinguished teaching award
FOR RELEASE: Thursday, March 22, 2001
Huntington, Ind. "Dr. Francis Jones, professor of mathematics at Huntington College, received the prestigious Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics from the Indiana Section of the Mathematical Association of America. The award was presented March 23 at the association's annual conference in Indianapolis. Francis will represent our state well in the national competition for this MAA award, said colleague Patrick Eggleton, assistant professor of mathematics.
The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is the world's largest organization devoted to the interests of collegiate mathematics. In 1991 the MAA instituted Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics in order to honor college or university teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. The national award recipient is typically selected from among the Section award winners.
Dr. Francis L. Jones (fjones@huntington.edu) has been a distinguished member of the mathematics faculty at Huntington College since 1971. Dr. Jones received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Huntington College and his Ph.D. in mathematics from Michigan State University. Dr. Jones resides in Huntington, Indiana, with his wife Pat, who works the college's RichLyn Library. They have two adult children, both of whom are also Huntington College graduates.
Dr. Jones was the recipient of Huntington College Centennial Medallion, awarded in 1997 to 100 individuals deemed to embody the mission and purpose of the institution. Dr. Jones was also featured in the Winter 2000 edition of Huntington College Magazine. This publication included a profile of the mathematics department,
and is available in PDF format at http://www.huntington.edu/mag/hc-mag-2000-winter.pdf.
Citation read in Dr. Jones' honor at the March 23 award ceremony:
Indiana Section of the Mathematical Association of America
Award for Distinguished College or University
Teaching of Mathematics
Citation to
Francis L. Jones
The Indiana Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics annually recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of Section members who have been identified as extraordinarily successful teachers in the mathematical sciences and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions.
This year's recipient has dedicated over 30 years to challenging young minds to see the beauty and intricacies of mathematics through his teaching. Dedicated to serve his alma mater, he shares his gifted ability in mathematics through practical instructional strategies to meet the mathematical needs of the student body, whether through general education courses or the highest level mathematics coursework.
This year's recipient has participated in MAA throughout his career, striving to make the goals and interests of MAA a reality to the curriculum at his school. When graphing calculator and computer instructional techniques merged with mathematics instruction, he spent considerable time learning to use these tools and integrating them into his coursework. Even this last summer he spent considerable time gaining expertise in the use of Visual Basic in order to use this tool in a course he created on fractals. His attention to detail in these areas has earned him citations in texts such as For All Practical Purposes and Exploring Abstract Algebra with Mathematica. His leadership as a mathematician and as a scholar has also been recognized by his campus where he has provided the highest levels of faculty leadership for years.
A former student of this year's recipient, now a director of actuarial development in Fort Wayne, said of him, [He] is an excellent teacher, he pushes his students to be their best and he cares about them as individuals. Teachers don't get any better than that. Teachers really don't get any better than that!
It is my privilege to present the 2001 Indiana Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics to Dr. Francis L. Jones of Huntington College.
