SLU’s Dr. Patti Frazier Lock Receives Distinguished Teaching Award
By LAURA GAY
STAFF WRITER
The world was abuzz for the Oscars this past Sunday, where many were recognized for their outstanding contributions to film. Well, one of our very own, Dr. Patti Frazier Lock, was recently awarded for her own outstanding abilities in teaching. Being students at St. Lawrence University, it is no secret that we benefit from the enriching teachings and profoundly knowledgeable that professors here possess. The small classes, the one-on-one attention, and the accessibility to our professors also help us to gain from our world class education.
Dr. Lock, a mathematics professor, was honored with the Clarence F. Stephens Distinguishing Teaching Award. The Clarence F. Stephens Distinguishing Teaching Award was established by the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in 1991 as a way to recognize educators at the college/university level whom have been successful in their effectiveness as a teacher and had influence beyond his or her Institution. The recipient of this prestigious award is automatically nominated for the national award, the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. Nominees for the Clarence F. Stephens Distinguishing Teaching Award are all nominated by their peers whom are members of the Seaway section of MAA.
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Department Chair of the Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics Departments, Dr. Daniel Look, Stephens Award is a competitive teaching award…that [Dr. Lock] was selected is an acknowledgement of her dedication to and excellence in the craft of teaching,” Dr. Look said. “Although we in the department are not surprised by this, we are very happy to count [Dr. Lock] among our rank and we are glad that she was chosen for this well-deserved honor.”
Dr. Lock expresses, “I am honored to receive this award…I feel very lucky to work for this great department at St. Lawrence University, where I am surrounded by so many outstanding teachers.”
Brandon Lustig ‘16, has fond memories of his time spent in Dr. Lock’s calculus II class. “I enjoyed her class; she was really organized in her teaching, kept people paying attention, and was quick to give feedback on homework assignments and quizzes,” he said.
Dr. Lock has not only proved to be an excellent teacher in mathematics, but she has contributed to the mathematical community by publishing several academic textbooks. All of her efforts have been acknowledge in this prestigious award.
She has written several textbooks in algebra, pre-calculus, calculus, multivariable calculus, and applied calculus. Her and her mathematically inclined family, including her husband and fellow St. Lawrence professor Dr. Robin Lock, and her three statistician children, all co-wrote a statistics text Statistics: Unlocking the Power of Data.
Here at St. Lawrence University, we congratulate you, Dr. Lock, and we are so lucky to have you.