Each spring the Mathematics Department hosts an awards banquet to recognize and honor exemplary students and their families. This year the banquet will be held on Thursday, April 13.

Scholarships

Through the generous contributions of alumni and many past and present mathematics faculty, the Mathematics Endowment Fund provides funds to support annual Mathematics Department Scholarships for select mathematics majors.

This year we are delighted to award Department Scholarships to six deserving students.  The selection criteria include a personal essay, grade point average, letters of recommendation, and extra-curricular mathematical activities. The students who will receive this honor for the 2017-18 academic year are:

Zachary Ash

Dayna Ball

Matthew Conflitti

Megan Genslak

Logan Felt

Tanner Rufenacht

Congratulations to all of these excellent continuing mathematics students!

VanderJagt Mathematics and Athletics Scholarship

Prof. Don VanderJagt served the mathematics department and Grand Valley State University for more than 40 years, and for many of those years he was the GVSU faculty representative to the NCAA.  Don loved athletics and was passionate about Grand Valley athletes’ excellence on the field and 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 is kept on a plaque outside the math department office.

This year we are pleased to announce that Marissa Parker, a member of the women’s club rugby team, is the mathematics major who will receive the VanderJagt Scholarship.

Other Awards

The 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 2017 Outstanding Sophomores are Megan Genslak and Grace McMonagle.

In addition, we 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 2017 are:

Adam Terwilliger

Jennifer Moon

Jordan Drake

Lucas Kohlmeyer

Matthew Wieckhorst

Nick Schweitzer

Stephanie Loewen

Tanner Rufenacht

The department’s Outstanding Graduate for 2017 is Vasily Zadorozhnyy.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding students.  We wish them the very best in all of their future endeavors.