Franklin College Awarded Prestigious National Honor by American Mathematical Society

Franklin College's mathematics and computing department has been awarded a prestigious national honor by the American Mathematical Society (AMS).

The society, after a review of the department’s programs, has recognized the college as the recipient of its 2019 Award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics Department. Previous recipients of the award include UCLA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Arizona, Harvey Mudd College and Williams College, to name only a few.

The award was made public by T. Christine (Chris) Stevens, Ph.D., the associate executive director for meetings and professional services for the American Mathematical Society, during a special event held on campus on Monday, April 8.

“In the arena of higher education programs in mathematics, the prestige of this award is beyond compare,” said Lori Schroeder, provost and dean of Franklin College. “This award is highly coveted and is sought after by thousands of colleges and universities across the nation, and it is rare for a small, liberal arts college to be chosen in the face of so many large university mathematics programs. We are so very proud of our faculty for garnering this singular recognition.”

The AMS is a national association of professional mathematicians committed to advancing research and scholarship. It provides information and guidance on best practices to math and computing programs across the country.

“The comprehensive undergraduate program offered at Franklin College has unique curricular and co-curricular aspects,” read the citation by the AMS in the award letter. “Their program, which considers the student holistically, is intentional, carefully planned, and regularly assessed and revised.”

In particular, the society recognized the department’s selection as a featured part of MathFest in 2016 and 2017, hosted by the Mathematical Association of America. There, Franklin College faculty showcased their model for student success in a minicourse called “Creating a Purposeful Student Learning Experience.”  The MAA recently announced that the department would be on the program again this year.

The AMS cited the six principles of the department’s curriculum — research-based, all-inclusive goals and objectives, scaffolded developmental strands, engaging department culture, innovative curriculum, deliberate integration of co-curricular experiences, and comprehensive assessment — as “well-defined programmatic goals.”

Franklin College Professor of Mathematics Dan Callon, Ph.D., said the AMS award is the result of the unique traditions cultivated by the mathematics department.

“This award, and the series of amazing achievements by our department in the last year, is a testament to the culture developed by the investment of time, talent and energy by our wonderful current and emeritus faculty and staff, our outstanding students, our highly-involved alumni, our welcoming community partners and our generous donors,” Callon said.

This is the second significant national recognition the college has announced this academic year. In November, the college announced that its mathematics and psychology faculty were selected to be featured in a national training program produced by the Association of College and University Educators to promote excellence in career readiness initiatives at colleges and universities. Those programs were two of only five departments in the Midwest to be selected as models of preparation in 21^st century career skills.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.

Franklin College, a proud member of the Indy Chamber, is a liberal arts and sciences college in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, about 20 miles from downtown Indianapolis. Our small class size allows students to thrive through personal interactions and individual mentorship. In addition, our liberal arts curriculum offers transformative opportunities that translate into empowered perspectives and real-world jobs. Our professors, faculty-advocates, challenge students to stretch beyond easy answers and become leaders in their fields. At the end of the day, we are self-motivated lifelong learners who relentlessly pursue the best in ourselves and in our community. For more information, visit www.FranklinCollege.edu. Find Franklin College on Facebook and follow @FranklinCollege on Twitter.