1994 Mathematical Association of America
Certificate for Meritorious Service
Citation to

Paul T. Mielke

The Mathematical Association of America is pleased to recognize the outstanding service of Paul T. Mielke to the MAA and to the Indiana Section by presenting him with this Certificate of Meritorious Service.

Paul T. Mielke lives in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Wabash College. He attended Wabash College, where he earned his bachelor's degree, and he received his Ph. D. from Purdue University where he specialized in analysis. His mathematical career, except for a brief period he spent working in the aircraft industry, has been concentrated on the mathematical education and enlightenment of young people, especially at Wabash College. As chairman, he lead his department through a significant period of growth and was influential in starting the college's computer center.

During his nearly five decades of membership in the Mathematical Association of America, Professor Mielke has actively contributed at the national and sectional levels. Both informally and formally, he has been a constant source of organization, decorum, and inspiration within the Indiana Section. He served the Section as Secretary-Treasurer from 1960 to 1966, as Vice-Chair from 1968 to 1969, and as Governor from 1972 to 1975. At the national level he served as the Executive Director of the MAA Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM), and he was an associate editor for the American Mathematical Monthly. At Wabash College in 1965 he founded "The Friendly Mathematics Competition," a collegiate mathematical problem-solving competition, which has been held annually among teams from schools in Indiana since 1966 and is now known as "The Indiana College Mathematics Competition." Although now officially sponsored by the Indiana Section, the ICMC continues to be nurtured by Professor Mielke, who personally provides the winning team with book prizes and his own hand-crafted wooden plaques and who annually updates a history of the competition. At its Spring 1993 meeting the Indiana Section was honored to present to him its first annual Distinguished Service Award.

Paul T. Mielke is a source of pride for his college, his community, and his profession. For his continuous commitment to the advancement of mathematics, to mathematics education, and to the MAA, he is deserving of this recognition.