Indiana Section of the Mathematical Association of America
Distinguished Service Award

Citation to

Mic Jackson

The Indiana Section Distinguished Service Award was initiated in 1993 to honor a member of the Section by acknowledging his or her extraordinary contributions to the Section and outstanding efforts consistent with the stated purposes of the Mathematical Association of America and the Section, namely, assisting in promoting the interests of, and improving education in, the mathematical sciences in America, especially at the collegiate level.

This year’s recipient of the 18th Indiana MAA Section Distinguished Service Award has had a long and influential career, not only as a very successful teacher of mathematics, but also as a respected authority on environmental improvement and preservation.  Today we are honored to present this award to Michael (Mic) Jackson of Earlham College.

Mic’s career progressed quickly during the years after he received his 1969 B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy.  As a Civil Engineering Officer in the U.S. Air Force between 1969 and 1975, he contributed to projects ranging from highway construction to experimental design, and in 1970 and 1971, he served as Race Relations Officer while stationed at Craig Air Force Base in Alabama.  In 1977 Mic earned his M.S. degree in mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University, along with a secondary Teacher Certificate, and he completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of South Florida in Clearwater in 1981. While at South Florida, he served as an Adjunct Instructor in the Mathematics Department and also taught mathematics at Clearwater High School.  Prior to coming to Earlham, he taught at Monmouth College, in Illinois, and Palm Beach Atlantic College, in Florida.

Mic’s contributions to the Indiana MAA Section include serving as Vice Chair for 1991-1992 and also 1993-1994, and Chair for 1994-1995, as well as a member of the Section’s Nominating Committee for 2001-2002. He has also served the MAA at the national level as a member of the MAA Editorial Board for Curriculum Resource Materials (2001-2006), and he is currently a member of the MAA Committee on Consultants, on which he has served since 2005.  He has been recognized previously as the 2002-2003 recipient of the Indiana Section Distinguished Teaching Award.  Mic’s professional contributions include published papers in areas of mathematics education, as well as his well-received review, published in the American Mathematical Monthly, of Charles Hadlock’s article, “Mathematical Modeling in the Environment.”  He has also presented fifteen presentations at various schools and conferences.

Congratulations to Mic Jackson -- our colleague and friend and the recipient of the 2012 Indiana MAA Section Distinguished Service Award.

Patrick Sullivan, Indiana MAA Section Chair, March 23, 2012