2006 – J. Douglas Faires
The C. C. MacDuffee Award for Distinguished service was presented to J. Douglas Faires on August 11, 2006 at the annual meeting of Pi Mu Epsilon in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Pi Mu Epsilon is an organization for students, but it occasionally bestows a special award to others who have made significant contributions to the Society and its student members. This award, the C. C. MacDuffee Award for Distinguished Service, was first given in 1965. The first recipient was J. Sutherland Frame, whose name is attached to the lecture that we will all be attending at the conclusion of these ceremonies. The MacDuffee award is not given annually, but (in the words of the 1965 PME Council) “often enough to be recognized and seldom enough to be meaningful.”
Now, Pi Mu Epsilon presents this award to J. Douglas Faires. Doug has long been a leading force in Pi Mu Epsilon. He served as a national councilor for nine years, and then served as President-Elect, President, and finally Past-President. He didn’t merely serve in office; he led! He was a forceful visionary for the organization. In particular, he initiated the revision of Pi Mu Epsilon’s Constitution, and worked carefully with succeeding presidents Robert Smith and Joan Weiss to bring the final version to its acceptance this spring by the member chapters.
One of the most impressive accomplishments of Doug, however, is the work that he has done with students both at his home chapter of Ohio Xi, at Youngstown State University, and in the national community. He has worked tirelessly to make YSU a model of a program that encourages mathematical research and presentations by undergraduates. There are a total of nine YSU student speakers at Mathfest. This is the largest contingent of any school in the entire country.
Doug has also worked to provide more opportunities for students to present the results of their research. He has been a major force in helping the MAA receive a grant from the NSF to support RUMC’s (Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conferences). This past year alone, 28 regional conferences received support through this grant.
For all the work that he has done to support Pi Mu Epsilon and undergraduate research, we are pleased and proud to present Pi Mu Epsilon’s C. C. MacDuffee Award for Distinguished Service to Doug Faires.