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St. Olaf College professor Ted Vessey wins national award for distinguished math teaching

mjc
May 14, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Put students first and they?ll learn mathematics, Ted Vessey believes. His formula works at St. Olaf College, where Vessey ? a math professor ? has been putting students first for years, and where students major in math at one of the highest rates in the nation.

Because of his "students first" philosophy, Vessey recently earned the Mathematical Association of America?s prestigious North Central Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. The award recognizes Vessey?s career achievements in the classroom, and his remarkable success in maintaining a supportive teaching and learning environment for mathematics at St. Olaf College.

"Ted Vessey, more than any other single person over the last 30 years, deserves credit for St. Olaf College?s successful mathematics program," says fellow St. Olaf mathematics professor Paul Zorn. "As a department member and department chair for many years, Ted has been instrumental in developing a curriculum, hiring and supporting good faculty, mentoring students, fostering a challenging but supportive atmosphere and guiding discussions on how a mathematics department can maintain high standards yet be inviting to a wide variety of students."

St. Olaf students major in mathematics at percentages far higher than the national average, and they enroll in mathematics graduate schools at higher-than-average rates, too. Many of the college?s mathematics majors are "home-grown": they arrive at St. Olaf with no intention of majoring in mathematics, but soon find themselves drawn into the program, often through extracurricular mathematics activities.

The St. Olaf Mathematics Department and the local student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America sponsor many activities, including a Halloween pumpkin-carving party, a Christmas cookie-decorating event, an annual pig roast, a picnic, a mathematics department recital, weekly colloquia with guest speakers and problem-solving contests. ? more ?

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St. Olaf mathematical offerings are just as varied. Students also carry out independent study and research, do internships at major corporations or research centers, or go abroad with the Budapest Semester in Mathematics (a national program administered from St. Olaf).

Vessey has been instrumental in shaping the department into one of the nation?s most student-friendly centers of mathematics education. Students and colleagues point to two qualities that account for his success at humanizing math for students, and encouraging others to do the same:

One quality is enthusiasm. Vessey believes deeply that mathematics is for everyone, and that students in every discipline can benefit from its beauty and power. It?s each faculty member?s responsibility to help students achieve a level of mathematical understanding.

He has always felt that mathematics is not the province of a select few, but can reward almost every student. "Ted works for all mathematics students, not just for the talented few," Zorn says. "His focus is on students; his goal is to make students love mathematics."

Another quality is Vessey?s love of people. He uses a quick wit, a keen sense of the ridiculous, a natural rapport with students and plenty of common sense to convey his messages. And he uses examples from a wide variety of fields ?the natural sciences, gaming, his wife?s work (occupational therapy) ? to illustrate his points.

"Ted is a perfect antithesis of the stereotype sociopath mathematician," Zorn continues. "Ted knows his students well; he appreciates their strengths and variety. Women, men, ski bums, the graduate-school-bound, the work-bound ? Ted supports and mentors all of them. His special interest and pleasure in students? achievements inspires us."

"Dr. Vessey has a genuine concern for my priorities," one student said. "He is more than a teacher and advisor for me. I also consider him a role model and a friend."

"He is a champion for the students and would always give them honest and thoughtful advice," says another. "I have met many of his former students all leading productive and successful lives, and all are appreciative of the care he demonstrated as a teacher, advisor and friend."

"He believes that our world is changing faster than we can imagine, but through rigorous analytic training we will be well prepared for the uncertain world that lies ahead of us," says a third.

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Vessey also appreciates his St. Olaf colleagues as individuals and as a cooperating group. For many years he was chair of the St. Olaf Mathematics Department, building more flexibility into the curriculum, hiring and supporting good faculty and ensuring that first-year students were exposed to the very best teachers. Vessey continually insists on excellent, supportive teaching ? a key to the department?s success.

"His focus is on students; his goal is to make students love mathematics," says one colleague. "He?s taught the rest of the St. Olaf College mathematics faculty to do just that,. In a very real sense he taught the nation how to make mathematics departments thrive."

Vessey came to St. Olaf in 1970, and before that taught for four years at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He served as Mathematics Department chair from 1975 to 1985 and from 1987 to 1990, and has held visiting appointments at Stanford University, East China Normal University in Shanghai, the University of Lund, Sweden, and the University of Virginia. He coached the college?s alpine ski team for 12 years, and led the college?s Term in Asia program in 1993. He earned a bachelor?s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

The Mathematical Association of America, sponsor of the mathematics teaching award, is the world?s largest organization devoted to the interests of collegiate mathematics. The association, with about 30,000 members in 26 regional sections, organizes conferences and publishes books and journals on contemporary mathematics and mathematical pedagogy at the college level.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.