The Southern California-Nevada Section of the Mathematical Association of America has selected Asuman Aksoy as the recipient of its 2006 Distinguished College or University Teaching Award. Aksoy, a professor of mathematics, will be honored at the Association's spring section meeting at California State University, San Bernardino, on Saturday, April 8.
The annual award is given to a mathematics professor selected by a committee of five members representing the different constituencies of the section: University of California, California State University, Private Colleges, and Community Colleges. The secretary-treasurer of the Association is a member ex-officio of the committee.
CMC professor of Mathematics Mario Martelli, who prepared Aksoy's nomination, says that as part of her candidacy, he gathered opinions about her teaching skills from colleagues and former students.
Aksoy is the second mathematician at CMC to receive the award from the Southern California-Nevada Section of the MAA. Martelli, chair of the department of mathematics, statistics, and computer science, and at that time on the faculty of California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), received the award in 1994 and was then named outstanding professor of CSUF in 1996, receiving a grant of $4,000 to expand his collaboration with students.
Aksoy will be invited to be one of the three official speakers at the fall meeting of the Association on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Cal State University Long Beach. Moreover, she will be the official representative of the Section for the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo National Teaching Award given in January 2006 at the joint winter meeting of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Association for Women in Mathematics in New Orleans, La. The honor recognizes the three most successful teachers of the year among all winners of the sectional awards.