In 2021 - 2022, two members of the Department of Mathematics were
recognized with highly competitive University-wide awards.
* Athena Yiamouyiannis
Dr. Athena Yiamouyiannis received the 2021-2022 Melinda McDonald Advising Administrator Award.
High-quality academic advising is crucial to helping students succeed at Ohio State. With large numbers of enrollments, the breadth of courses, and the variety of degree programs provided by the Department of Mathematics, math advising is especially complex and impactful.
The department is fortunate to have Athena Yiamouyiannis serving as a math advisor since 2014 and as supervising advisor since 2018. She advocates for Ohio State students, collaborates with the rest of the math advising team, connects with faculty, and serves on departmental committees including the Diversity and Departmental Climate Committee. Her knowledge and her leadership have made the department's advising office into a role-model for student-facing services at Ohio State.
Her efforts have been noticed by the broader University community. The Academic Advising Association of Ohio State (ACADAOS) and the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) sponsor a yearly Melinda McDonald Advising Administrator Award for academic advising. Just one advising administrator from Ohio State is selected each year to receive a certificate and a monetary gift presented by ACADAOS and OAA. Recognizing Athena Yiamouyiannis' exemplary leadership in academic advising, Dr. Yiamouyiannis was honored with this the University-level award in 2021-2022. The award reflects the positive impact she has had on many students, on the Department of Mathematics, and on the University as a whole.
* Jim Talamo
Dr. Jim Talamo received a 2021-2022 Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer.
The teaching mission of the Department of Mathematics depends on high-quality instructional staff, and large enrollment courses like Calculus 2 (Math 1152 and Math 1172) are important not just to math
majors in particular, but to STEM majors generally.
The Department is fortunate to have Jim Talamo serving as Senior Lecturer since 2018. As such, he often serves as an instructor in the crucial Calculus 2 courses like Math 1152 and Math 1172. His classes are notoriously popular, with students noting that "if you didn't get to class early, you had absolutely no place to sit."
https://www.reddit.com/r/OSU/comments/4y0ll0/comment/d6nponq/
Talamo takes the lead in designing rigorous exams used across 1152 and 1172 sections, in crafting review worksheets and recitation activities, and in holding review sessions. Students notice that he is concerned for their success: "Talamo is amazing. He truly cares about his students and understands the learning process and incorporates that into his course."
https://www.reddit.com/r/OSU/comments/to8yv1/comment/i27la47/
Each year, the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer recognizes at most six instructors for their teaching excellence. Recipients are recognized with a $5k honorarium made possible by the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA). A committee of students, faculty, and alumni chose Jim Talamo as one of the 2021-2022 recipients. His receiving this award reflects the positive impact that he has had on student success at Ohio State. His leadership in classroom teaching and in curriculum development have made challenging calculus content more relatable and more accessible.
