Middle school education majors at Missouri State University (MSU) with a mathematics area of emphasis now have a scholarship opportunity named in honor of Dr. Joe Crosswhite.  The scholarship is awarded annually to undergraduate students based on GPA and excellence in required mathematics courses. See http://math.missouristate.edu/scholars.html.  This scholarship is funded primarily through book royalties from MSU mathematics educators, and this is the first time funds are available for scholarships through an endowed fund with the MSU Foundation. The awardees this year (pictured with Dr. Crosswhite) are:  Colby Wimberly, Maida Russell, Jessica Yates, Ashley Baczek, and Brittany Pauley (not pictured).

Dr. Crosswhite is a Springfield native and attended MSU when it was Southwest Missouri Teachers College. After graduating from University of Missouri, Columbia, he taught high school mathematics in Salem, Missouri. He completed his doctorate in Mathematics Education at The Ohio State University.  Dr. Crosswhite was the President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) from 1984-1986 when the national mathematics standards were first being developed.  This was the first attempt by an organization to develop national standards and guidelines for the teaching and learning of any subject.  His influence, through many publications including the Second International Mathematics and Science Study Report and the NCTM Standards, would be difficult to overstate.  Current mathematics educators in the Mathematics Department at MSU owe a great deal to Dr. Crosswhite with respect to the development of philosophies on the teaching and learning of mathematics, and are proud to award this scholarship in his name.