Young Teacher Award
Alan E. Parks, 1987
"Alan Parks, in the two years since you joined the Lawrence faculty, you have waged a vigorous assault on math anxiety, transforming mathophobes into mathophiles, even as you have given previously dedicated students of mathematics a heightened appreciation for the discipline. These attainments derive, in equal measure, from the strength of your scholarship and from your keen sense of the teacher's craft. Your colleagues applaud the care with which you conceive and organize your courses and acknowledge your special ability to translate word problems from other disciplines into mathematical form. Your students praise the clarity of your exposition, the enthusiasm you bring to the classroom, and the patient helpfulness and encouragement that characterize your individual instruction. Whether you are teaching mathematics or Freshman Studies, working on the Computer Studies Committee, or advising students in Lamba Sigma, your commitment to your students' education is as clear as one of your proofs in finite group theory.
Alan, we are delighted to honor you as an outstanding young teacher of the Lawrence faculty."