In 1993, Paul Fishback came to GVSU as Assistant Professor of Mathematics.  In spring 2025, following 33 years of service,  Paul decided to retire from Grand Valley in order to spend more time on his outdoor passions, including travelling, hiking, kayaking, and bicycling.

Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Hamilton College in 1985, and went on to earn a PhD in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992.  Paul’s father, Bill Fishback, was also a mathematician, serving as a faculty member at Earlham College.  Growing up and seeing his dad’s passion for the subject inspired Paul to become a mathematician himself.

When he was hired at GVSU, Paul was especially excited about the offer because he saw how the university’s values aligned with his own.  Specifically, teaching was given the highest priority.

In 2009, Paul won GVSU’s Outstanding Educator Award from the Alumni association; he’s described by his former students as approachable, patient and engaging.  Many students praised him for his ability to make very difficult subject matter easily understandable, as well as for his concern for the personal and professional development of his students. 

Paul was a long-time faculty advisor for the GVSU chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society, plus he served as a member of PME’s national council. 

During his 33 years at Grand Valley, Paul witnessed huge growth in both the student population and the campus itself. When he arrived, there were 13,000 students. Now there are over 20,000. The campus has also completely transformed, including the construction of several downtown buildings, the expanded rec center, Henry Hall, 3 additions to Mackinac Hall, and the Mary Idema Pew Library, new dorms.

Paul loved being able to teach a wide variety of courses, both applied and theoretical in nature.. Developing the Operations Research course, MTH 360, with Dr. Clark Wells was particularly rewarding, as he had no background in the field prior to coming to GVSU.  In 2009, he published a textbook for the course:  Linear and Nonlinear Programming with Maple: An Interactive, Applications-Based Approach.

An early leader of undergraduate research projects in the GVSU Department of Mathematics, Prof Fishback  authored many articles on wide-ranging mathematics topics, often co-authoring with student researchers.   

As Paul looks back on his long and impressive career, he notes that he’ll especially miss the students, saying, “It’s always rewarding to watch a student grow intellectually over the course of their GVSU career  and find their path in life.”  He also notes that two of his most satisfying achievements were  starting the math/stats club and leading the formation of a PME chapter.  In particular, working with Steve Schlicker, Ed Aboufadel, Clark Wells, and Jody Sorensen to establish the university’s first NSF-REU program was especially rewarding, as was seeing the program become nationally recognized over its nearly 20-year duration. 

The GVSU Department of Mathematics thanks Prof. Fishback for his long and dedicated service to the department and its students and wishes him a long and enjoyable retirement.