Dr. Kenneth I. Gross, mathematics professor in UVM's College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS), is the recipient of the most prestigious national award for mathematics teaching at the college level, the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching. Dr. Gross will receive the award at a special prize session during the annual Mathematics Association of America (MAA) meeting in San Diego on January 7, 2008, where he will give a short talk on teaching and the MAA will issue a national press release. The Haimo award was instituted in 1991 by the MAA to honor three teachers annually who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. In addition to Dr. Gross, this year's recipients are Dr. Annalisa Crannell of Franklin and Marshall College and Dr. James Morrow of University of Washington. The recipients were announced in the October 2007 issue of the MAA magazine, FOCUS. Gross is known as an inspirational teacher and mentor for students from high school through the doctoral level, and many students attribute their success directly to his commitment to and love of mathematics. His accomplishments include co-founding a weeklong summer enrichment program for Vermont high school students that is now known as the Governor's Institute in Mathematical Sciences, and founding the Vermont Mathematics Initiative (VMI), a master's degree program that trains K-6 teachers to be mathematics leaders in their schools/districts. The VMI is having a major impact on mathematics instruction and student learning in Vermont. Gross has received a number of other awards for his teaching and scholarship, including the 2007 Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics from the New England Section of the MAA, and in prior years the UVM George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the UVM University Scholar's Award. "This is not just an honor for me," Gross says, "but for the entire UVM Department of Mathematics and Statistics for creating a tradition in which quality teaching at all levels is of primary importance." "Ken Gross is an outstanding educator in the broadest sense who has made a difference in the lives of a great many students," notes CEMS Dean Domenico Grasso. "Now the entire country knows what Vermont educators have known for many years. UVM is truly honored by Ken's many accomplishments and congratulate him on receiving this national award."