Item 103-1017-R0599
May 20-21, 1999
ITEM 103-1017-R0599 Resolution Concerning the Retirement of Don O. Loftsgaarden, Professor of Mathematical Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences; The University of Montana-Missoula
THAT: Don Loftsgaarden, Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, in his 32 years of dedicated service to The University of Montana, has merited the commendation of the Board of Regents of the Montana University System, and has earned the title of Professor Emeritus.
EXPLANATION: Don Loftsgaarden came to the Department of Mathematics as an Assistant Professor in Fall 1967. He grew up in Power, Montana, and received his B.S. in 1961 and Ph.D. in 1964 from Montana State University. He taught for one year at Montana State and two years at Western Michigan University before returning to his home state. Professor Loftsgaarden’s area is statistics and he has collaborated and consulted extensively over his career with students and faculty in numerous other departments and with the Forest Service. He has also been an innovator in statistical education at The University of Montana. Starting in 1991, he developed a new large-lecture introductory statistics course which he has taught more than a dozen times. The course has grown to over 400 students per semester and Professor Loftsgaarden has continually improved it, having recently developed a large web site resource for the course. At the national level, Professor Loftsgaarden was a member of the Survey Committee of the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences from 1978 to 1997. This committee, with support from the National Science Foundation, conducts major surveys of mathematics departments at colleges and universities in the U.S. every five years. In 1985 and 1990 Professor Loftsgaarden carried out the surveys, did all the data analysis, and co-authored the resulting reports, which are used by national mathematics organizations, governmental agencies, and colleges and universities. He has also served since 1988 on a joint committee of the Mathematical Association of America and the American Statistical Association which gathers and publishes annual data on the mathematics profession. Locally, Professor Loftsgaarden was Department Chair for a total of five years over two different terms. In his second term from 1992-95, he worked extremely hard to manage a department that had grown to over 120 staff, faculty, and teaching assistants, and included two major national mathematics education grants. He received the University’s Academic Administrator Award in 1995 for his hard work and effective leadership.
The Department of Mathematical Sciences is honored to recommend Professor Don O. Loftsgaarden for Emeritus status.