19 August 2004

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I'm very pleased to announce this year's winners of the Mathematics Department Teaching and Service Awards. These awards recognize outstanding contributions over an extended period of time to the teaching of mathematics in the broadest sense and to the general welfare of the department.

This year's recipients are Bob Brown and Bostwick, whose citations follow below.

Congratulations Bob and Bostwick!

Best wishes,
Peter

Citation for Robert Brown

The Actuarial Science option is one of the larger components of our undergraduate mathematics program and its creation is due in greatest part to Bob Brown. His dedication to the Actuarial Science program from its inception in 1979 until 1994, when he stepped down as director of the program and turned his attention to Chairmanship of the department, has been the key factor in its success. He was instrumental in obtaining a $95,000 grant from the Griffiths Foundation with which to start the program and he devoted a great deal of effort to creating and teaching the courses that form the core of the program. His skills in networking the insurance industry as well as teaching, advising and placing students played a large role in building a nationwide reputation for the Ohio State Actuarial Science program.

Bob is a dedicated and effective teacher who has worked successfully over the whole of his academic career to building bridges between the Mathematics Department and the College of Education. In addition, he served in several administrative capacities first as Associate Dean of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences, then as Chair of Mathematics, and currently as a member of the Board of the State Teacher's Retirement System (STRS) where his experience both as a professor and as an actuary will be of enormous value.

Citation for Bostwick Wyman

For most of the last decade Bostwick has served the department in two very important capacities: Vice Chair of Mathematics and Director of the Actuarial Science program. As Vice Chair from 1994 to 2003 he skillfully put together the quarterly faculty teaching assignments, served as ombudsman for all courses at the level of calculus and above, and responded to the innumerable ideosyncratic requests for information that flow daily into the department. Bostwick's diplomatic skills and gentle sense of humor helped resolve conflicts in a calm professional manner whenever they arose. These skills also made him a fine ambassador for the department in the counsels of this institution.

As Director of the Actuarial Science program since 1994, Bostwick expanded the program while maintaining its reputation for quality. At any one time he personally advises 60-90 undergraduates and maintains a network of contacts in industry and academia to the benefit of the program and its graduates. His involvement with actuarial science added a new dimension to his own research career, resulting in the direction of several PhD theses on problems of risk and insurance. We'll sorely miss his expertise when he steps down as Director at the end of the coming academic year.