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Amedeo DeRobbio Memorial Award

This award is given to a member of RIMTA who demonstrates Mack DeRobbio's spirit and enthusiasm for mathematics. The awardee receives a plaque and a monetary award.

AMEDEO DeROBBIO, Treasurer Emeritus

A Tribute to Amedeo DeRobbio by David A. Capaldi

Amedeo DeRobbio was for many years, Treasurer of RIMTA. On the occasion of his retirement from this position, the RIMTA Executive Board designated him as Treasurer Emeritus in recognition of his many years of faithful service. Amedeo – known by many as "MACK" – was a devoted mathematics teacher/leader, and a super role model for a large number of people in the state and the region. His death in January of 1997 was a sad day for many who regarded Mack as a friend and colleague. He had a dry sense of humor and a subtle, gentle manner. He was always positive and a gentleman. He was a complete stickler for detail and precision which were qualities which were some of the things that made him a wonderful RIMTA treasurer. After his death, the RIMTA Executive Board decided to create the Amedeo DeRobbio Award, selecting a person who demonstrated Mack’s spirit and enthusiasm for mathematics. I am honored to have been named the third awardee in 1999.

Amedeo was a 1935 graduate of American International Institute (College) and earned an MAT in mathematics from Brown Unversity in 1961. His master’s thesis was titled An Introduction to the Study of Groups. At Brown his advisors were W. A. Barns and Elmer R. Smith. He was also the recipient of a National Science Foundation Grant. Mack began his teaching in the public schools of Providence, Rhode Island, in 1936, teaching both mathematics and science as was the norm in those days before union contracts and "number of teaching preps". He taught at Mount Pleasant High School for 23 years serving as department chair from 1967 to 1977. He was later named mathematics area supervisor for the City of Providence – a job he continued until he retired from public school teaching in 1981. Mack then began teaching part-time at Bryant College, now Bryant University, and continued doing this until 1991.

Mack was an active member of RIMTA, ATMNE and NCTM as well as the Rhode Island Retired Teachers Association.

As an example of his precision let me relate this story which I told at the awarding of the first DeRobbio Award to Sister Margaret Murphy, RSM, at the RIMTA Spring Meeting, May 13, 1997. One time, after I had Mack explain that he took it upon himself to write an acknowledgement in receipt of membership dues, I decided to have membership cards printed for him to use – one that would be perforated and contain a membership card for the member to keep. After I dropped them off at his house in Cranston, he called me at work the next day to ask me my thoughts about where the apostrophe should be in the word TEACHERS in RIMTA’s name. I told him I didn’t think it really was an important issue and that it probably didn’t make too much difference one way or the other. TEACHER’S or TEACHERS’. Needless to say, I don’t think Mack agreed with me – he never used those cards – which I think were printed TEACHER’S instead of what he thought should be TEACHERS’.

Awardees

The first recipient (1997) was Sister Margaret Murphy, a dedicated math teacher for over thirty-five years. She was RIMTA's secretary for more than twenty years.

The 1998 recipient was Lee Jacob, our current RIMTA treasurer. He was instrumental in tripling our RIMTA membership and is an integral part of the Skills Commission and the Certificate of Initial Mastery work.

David Capaldi, a major supporter and past president of RIMTA, was the 1999 recipient. He was also chair of the 1998 RIMTA-sponsored ATMNE Conference.

Marceline Zambuco, the 2000 recipient, and an active RIMTA board member for twenty years, was one of the first national awardees of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Math and Science from our state of Rhode Island.

The 2001 recipient, University of RI professor John Long, was one of RIMTA's newsletter editors for many years. He published top quality issues, keeping us abreast of the newest math education trends.

Former RIC professor James Bierden, mathematics teacher preparation instructor, and the 2002 award recipient has been promoting the NCTM Principles and Standards since 1989. He was also the ATMNE representative on the RIMTA board.

Mary "Mike" Jerome, a 1992 Presidential Awardee, and a math teacher at Thompson Middle School in Newport for over thirty years, was the 2003 recipient. A member of the RIMTA board since 1993, she is the RIMTA listserv owner and editor of RIMTA's web site.

Two of our dedicated RIMTA board members, Claire Pollard and Dominic Dougherty, contributed so much to the Rhode Island Mathematics Community that it was decided to honor both of them in 2004. Claire Pollard served as a math resource teacher in the Providence School System and provided professional development workshops/courses for RI math teachers. In RIMTA, Claire served as the president and was the chairperson of RIMTA's Fall and Spring Conferences for many years. Dominic Dougherty, "Doc", Department Head at Chariho Regional High School, served as president of the RI Math League, was coach for the All-State Team representing RI at ARML, and was active on numerous committees for ATMNE conferences.

L. Terry Coes, our 2006 DeRobbio recipient, is well known, both in the Rhode Island and the national mathematical community. Terry is a past RIMTA president, a past CPAM (Council of Presidential Awardees in Mathematics) president, and was on the NCTM Board of Directors 1997-2000. He co-authored Algebra 1: Explorations and Applications and Algebra 2: Explorations and Applications, published articles in the Mathematics Teacher, and was a 1998-1999 Mathematica High School Grant recipient. Terry also chaired a RIMTA-sponsored ATMNE Conference.

RIMTA's Teacher Award

RIMTA has established a new grant program for math teachers. Every other year RIMTA awards $100 grants (up to 10) to RI math teachers of any grade level. These grants are non-renewable and are to be used to help support innovative classroom ideas that are not a part of existing projects in the classroom. It is expected that grant recipients will share a brief description of their projects and project outcomes in the RIMTA newsletter and at a future RIMTA general meeting.

Please contact Patricia Ursenia at Iteach5028@cox.net or 1-401-435-7819 for an application or questions.

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