Further confirming her status as an MDC champion of mathematics education, Dr. Rosany Alvarez has earned a prestigious recognition for her perennial efforts to enhance student outcomes as the recipient of the 2014 CASE/Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Florida Professor of the Year Award.
Already the recipient of numerous awards over the course of her 24 years at MDC, including two Endowed Teaching Chairs, Dr. Alvarez is known for successfully incorporating innovative, hands-on teaching techniques that make math make sense to students.
“My first goal in the classroom is to ensure that my students come to realize that the material we are about to explore is not as daunting as they may think or fear,” Dr. Alvarez said. “It gives me great satisfaction when I see students who have struggled with math for years tell me, ‘I get it. This is not as difficult as I thought.’”
Dr. Alvarez creates opportunities for students to interact with math and find personal success at every turn. Every year, she holds the Exact Sciences Conference at InterAmerican Campus, an event she founded in 1993. The Conference brings STEM professionals to the College to give students a chance to learn more about what kinds of jobs they can get with a STEM degree.
As a faculty advisor, Dr. Alvarez also has been involved in the implementation of Pi Day and Math Awareness Month, and she oversaw the creation of the world’s largest polyhedron.