N.H. Resident Among Only Five Faculty in UMass System to Receive Award
08/08/2016
Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – Prof. Stephen Pennell of UMass Lowell recently received one of the University of Massachusetts system’s most prestigious award for excellence in teaching.
Pennell, a faculty member in UMass Lowell’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, was awarded the Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Given annually to one outstanding faculty member from each of the five UMass campuses, the honor recognizes faculty who demonstrate outstanding teaching and exemplary dedication to students and the campus community. The award was established last year by UMass Lowell graduates Robert Manning ’84 and Donna Manning ’85, ’91.
“I am happy and honored to receive the award, but I am also humbled,” said Pennell, a resident of Londonderry, N.H. “There are so many outstanding teachers at UMass Lowell that I feel very fortunate to have been selected.”
Pennell, who has been on the UMass Lowell faculty for 34 years, has received numerous teaching awards over that time from his department, the Student Government Association, student-athletes and the university’s Council on Undergraduate Teaching. He is highly engaged in the campus community, having served in roles including director of UMass Lowell’s Honors Program (now the Honors College), as adviser to both the leadership honor society on campus, Omicron Delta Kappa, and the UMass Lowell chapter of the national mathematics honor society, Pi Mu Epsilon. Pennell has also earned recognition for his advising and support of students with disabilities. His interdisciplinary research includes working with the university’s Center for Wind Energy.
“Letters of support from colleagues and students and sample projects were among the factors considered for the award,” said Donald Pierson, who until recently served as UMass Lowell’s provost and who has been at UMass Lowell almost as long as Pennell. “One math department colleague said in a recommendation letter, ‘It is rare to see [Pennell] in his office with no students there getting help. He has a reputation for never turning anyone away.’”
Associate Prof. Karen Roehr of the Department of Art and Design nominated Pennell for the award. “Stephen personifies what is means to be an engaged, caring and excellent teacher. His passion for math and teaching inspires others.”
Pennell received a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Brown University in 1982 and soon after joined UMass Lowell.
“When I was finishing up my graduate work, I wasn’t sure what I would do next,” said Pennell, who originally wasn’t planning on a career in academia. “I heard about a one-year teaching position at what was then the University of Lowell, applied for the job and was lucky enough to get it. Much to my surprise, I found that I loved teaching. The one-year position became a permanent position and I’m still here. My wife, Melissa, is a professor in the English Department. We have both been very happy here.”
Pennell said his students and colleagues are what make his job so much fun. “Getting paid to do math is a dream come true for me. I love hearing about what my colleagues are working on, and I love getting the chance to work with students and learn how they think about mathematics.”
Reflecting on his career, one memory that stands out from his early years was teaching management pre-calculus. “Math is not the favorite subject of the students in that course. Many of the students regard math as an arbitrary collection of rules they just have to memorize. Near the end of one semester, one of my students realized that the rules were not arbitrary and that in fact the rules had to be the way they were. It was very gratifying to see the light bulb go off over her head when she made this discovery after working hard all semester,” he said.
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