For the first time, a Hillsdale College professor received the Distinguished College or University Teaching Award in January from the Michigan chapter of the Mathematics Association of America. Associate Professor of Mathematics David Murphy received the honor for his distinguished teaching and passion for mathematics.
When the MAA sent out a call for nomination submission by the end of the week in the middle of the fall semester finals week, a small group of faculty and students quickly pulled together to recommend Murphy for the annual award. Now, Murphy qualifies to apply for the national Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award, which honors math professors who excel in teaching and influence the field of mathematics beyond their home institution.
According to Lecturer of Mathematics Jonathan Gregg ’11, Murphy’s excellence in instruction matches his high expectations for his students. Now a professor, Gregg once sat on the other side of the desk as an undergraduate student in Murphy’s classes.
“He has a relationship with the students that they know when they go to his class that they can expect a high level of instruction, and they can expect to do a high level of work,” Gregg said. “This passion for actually understanding the material at a deep level — that really drives him a lot and drives his relationship with his classes.”
In addition to the math classes he teaches, Murphy also helps lead a summer math camp for high school students and collaborated with other mathematicians to write a textbook on algebraic geometry.
According to Assistant Professor of Mathematics David Gaebler, Murphy demonstrates excellence beyond the field of mathematics.
“He has a wide variety of things that he knows about — philosophy, history, art, literature — he doesn’t just like them, he can tell you something substantial about them,” Gaebler said. “He’s very caring and helpful, and he brings all these things together in the classroom. You see his expertise in mathematics; you see his expertise in other fields; you see his care for his students.”
Senior math major Sarah Onken recalled a time when Murphy integrated a Shakespeare soliloquy into his lecture.
“It was a small class, and he just whips out Shakespeare, and says, ‘We’re going to introduce this concept through Juliet’s soliloquy in Act II of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’” Onken said. “You walked out of class thinking, ‘We just read Shakespeare in a math class.’ I think that’s very indicative of how seriously Dr. Murphy takes the liberal arts and how across disciplines, all these things are really working together and show us truth.”
Murphy said he appreciates the way mathematics intersects with other disciplines.
“One of the things that’s important to see is that the knowledge is interconnected,” he said. “Philosophy and mathematics grew up as siblings, so you see early on the Pythagoreans and Thales, they don’t really draw a clear line between where philosophy ends and mathematics begins. There’s as much between mathematics and philosophers throughout the ages as there is between mathematics and physics. My knowledge of physics and philosophy are only a little bit of what I would like them to be, so I’m looking to continue to learn these subjects. As I learn more about them, it’s exciting and fun, so when I see these connections I like to point them out in classes.”
According to Onken, Murphy encourages students to explore topics in mathematics that interest them.
“He is a very serious teacher, and he takes his job very seriously, but he also wants us to have fun in what we’re doing and to have that sense of curiosity about what else there is in math,” she said. “He encourages questions all the time, really wanting to make sure not only that we understand the material, but if we see something that looks a bit peculiar, we can ask on it and explore it further in class.”
Gregg, whom Murphy advised on his honors thesis, said Murphy encourages students to think critically about mathematical concepts and helps guide them through the thought process.
“A lot of the thesis process, especially in math, is trying to come up with something new,” he said. “There was one avenue where I got really excited about something and kept pursuing it, and it ended up being something Dr. Murphy had already tried, but he entertained all my thoughts and let me pursue it and guided me along the process anyway, even though it wasn’t going to advance his research at all.”
Despite Murphy’s serious attitude toward his occupation, his love for mathematics also takes the form of jokes and logic puzzles.
“In addition to being very knowledgeable, he has a sort of playful streak,” Gaebler said. “He loves games and jokes and puzzles, and I think anyone who’s around him in any sort of context for five minutes picks up on that. That’s part of what draws students in, as well.”
