Matthew Mizuhara, associate professor of mathematics at The College of New Jersey, was presented with the 2024 Distinguished College Teaching Award from the New Jersey section of the Mathematical Association of America at its spring meeting last month.
Mizuhara was recognized by his colleagues and students as a thoughtful and highly effective educator with a love of mathematics and a challenging, engaging, and inclusive classroom environment. Thomas Hagedorn, a fellow professor of mathematics at TCNJ, nominated him for the award.
“It is a great honor to have been selected for this award,” Mizuhara said. “I am extremely fortunate to work at TCNJ where student-centered pedagogy and the teacher-scholar model are truly valued and practiced.”
Outside of the classroom, Mizuhara mentors undergraduate research projects that have resulted in presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and student acceptance into mathematics PhD programs.
He serves the greater mathematics community by serving as the MAA-NJ Section NExT co-director and sharing his classroom resources and experiences through presentations and workshops across the state of New Jersey.
“I’m thrilled to congratulate Dr. Mizuhara on receiving this award,” Sunita Kramer, dean of the School of Science, said. “His dedication to his students and his profession perfectly represents the inclusive and personalized teaching experience our faculty provides to our students here at TCNJ. I look forward to his continued success as both a teacher and a scholar of mathematics.”
Read more about some of Mizuhara’s mathematical methods (they involve fireflies in Thailand and wobbly tables in Ewing) in the 2020 issue of TCNJ Magazine.
— Emily W. Dodd ’03