Kathy Jaqua earns prestigious W.W. Rankin Award
WCU math students and faculty with Kathy Jaqua, back left
By Cam Adams
甜瓜视频app College of Arts and Sciences professor Kathy Jaqua noticed a look on her former student鈥檚 face.
She knew something was up when North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics president Karen McPherson started speaking 鈥� and before long, Jaqua was met with applause.
The longtime WCU professor was awarded the W.W. Rankin Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education, the highest honor the NCCTM can bestow upon an individual.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a big honor in terms of recognizing how much I鈥檝e done across the state and across the time that I鈥檝e been around,鈥� Jaqua said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty neat to have my colleagues say, 鈥楬ey, we appreciate this.鈥欌��
The award is named in memory of W.W. Rankin, a former professor of mathematics at Duke University. The W.W. Rankin Award has been presented by the NCCTM since 1974.
The NCCTM includes teachers across the state from all levels, kindergarten through graduate school, and other professionals who work with curriculum and materials for the teaching of mathematics.
鈥淚 am thrilled that Kathy has been honored with the Rankin Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education by the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics,鈥� said Risto Atanasov, head of WCU鈥檚 Department of Mathematics and Computer Science .
鈥淭his prestigious award is a testament to Kathy's outstanding dedication and contributions to mathematics education at 甜瓜视频app and across the state. Kathy's innovative teaching methods, commitment to student success, and passion for mathematics have significantly impacted both her students and colleagues.鈥�
Kathy Jaqua works with students
Jaqua has taught at WCU for 31 years, and before that, she was a high school teacher in southwest Virginia. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree from East Tennessee State University, her master鈥檚 from Oregon State University and her doctorate from Washington State University.
During her first year at WCU, Jaqua remembers her first time at NCCTM and the first time she saw the W.W. Rankin Award presented. Her thoughts?
鈥淚t was like, 鈥極h, wow,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭hey started reading all the things this person had done, and I said, 鈥榃onder if I鈥檓 ever going to have all of those things done when I鈥檝e been around for a while,鈥� so that was pretty neat.鈥�
She鈥檚 gotten a lot done in her career, but Jaqua recognizes that this award isn鈥檛 just hers.
鈥淚t was pretty neat for Western as a whole because there were lots of Western grads sitting there, so it was kind of theirs, too,鈥� Jaqua said.
