Every year the Mathematics Department enjoys hosting an awards banquet to recognize and honor exemplary students and their families. This year the banquet will be held on Thursday, April 14.

The Mathematics Department Scholarship is one way that students are recognized for their excellence.  Through the generous contributions of alumni and many past and present mathematics faculty, the Mathematics Endowment Fund provides funds to support annual scholarships for select mathematics majors.

This year we are delighted to award Department Scholarships to five exemplary students.  The selection criteria include a personal essay, grade point average, letters of recommendation, and extra-curricular mathematical endeavors. The students who will receive this honor for the 2016-17 academic year are:

Matt Conflitti

Logan Felt

Samantha Law

Jennifer Moon

Tanner Rufenacht

Congratulations to all of these fine continuing mathematics majors!

Prof. Don VanderJagt served the mathematics department and Grand Valley State University for more than 40 years.  Among his many roles at the university was his long-standing position as the GVSU faculty representative to the NCAA.  Don loved athletics and was as passionate about Grand Valley’s excellence on the field as he was in the classroom. 

Before his retirement, Don and his wife Barb endowed a scholarship in their name to honor a student majoring in mathematics who demonstrates excellence in both mathematics and athletics.  A list of past recipients can be found on a plaque outside the math department office.

This year we are delighted to announce that Tanner Rubin, a member of the men’s club volleyball team, is the mathematics major who will receive the VanderJagt Scholarship.

The Math and Community Service Award is designed to honor a mathematics major at GVSU who exhibits excellence in mathematics and a strong record of community service related to mathematics, mathematics education, or education. The winner of this award receives a certificate and a book and has her or his name engraved on a plaque in the Mathematics Department.  The 2016 recipient of this award is Nicholas Schweitzer.

Our Outstanding Sophomore Award recognizes the academic achievements of one or two students at the beginning of their academic careers.  The purpose of the award is to encourage continued success in the study of mathematics.  Students may only win this award by being nominated by one or more faculty; the 2015 Outstanding Sophomores are Casey Koch Larue and Kelsey Scott.

In addition, we will honor the students receiving Department Senior Awards for their accumulated excellence in the mathematics major and their overall contributions to the department.  Students such as these make a positive difference in the life of the mathematics department as they have demonstrated exemplary work in their courses and often have demonstrated leadership and participation in extracurricular mathematical activities. The winners of department senior awards for 2015 are:

Jacob Adams

Brittany Bordewyk

Lindsay Czap

Andrew diLernia

Danielle Harrison

Christina Kalouche

Susanna Lange

Evan Peters

Matt Meengs

Kristin Zalewski

Congratulations to all of these outstanding students.  We wish them the very best in all of their future endeavors.  The department’s Outstanding Graduate for 2016 is awarded to Christine Lampen, about whom we are pleased to offer this feature article.