Indiana Section of the Mathematical Association of America
Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics

Citation to

Carl C. Cowen, Jr.

The Indiana Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics annually observes the accomplishments and contributions of Section members who have been recognized as extraordinarily successful teachers in the mathematical sciences and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions.

The extraordinarily successful teaching style of this year's award recipient is guided by two principles: that students should be taught to read and understand mathematics and that students should be shown not only the finished product of mathematics but also how mathematicians think and work. One of his former students, now a high school teacher, has written to him, "I don't believe that any math teacher I had before ...ever made me figure things out for myself, though that is the only real way that a student will learn. Your model was the most important thang that I learned at Purdue, for I use it every day."

He has contributed to teaching of mathemaics at many levels and in many ways including direction of Ph.D. students, supervision of undergraduate research programs, and the direction of the Actuarial Science Program at Purdue, where he also has been a leader in the area of instructional computing. And he has been influential at the national level where his contributions have included service on the AMS Committee on Education and the SAIM Education Committee,

It is my privilege to present this award to Professor Carl C. Cowen, Jr., of Purdue University.

Mic Jackson, Chair
Indiana Section of the Mathematical Association of America
March 31, 1995