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2014 Award for Impact on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics 2014 Award for Impact on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics Paul J. Sally Jr. is the recipient of the inaugural AMS About Paul J. Sally Jr. Award for Impact on the Teaching and Learning of When Paul J. Sally Jr. died on December 30, 2013, Mathematics. Sadly, Paul passed away unexpectedly on at the age of eighty, the mathematical community December 30, 2013. But news about the award reached mourned the loss of a beloved figure who contrib- him shortly before his death, and he took great pleasure uted to the field in many ways, particularly through in knowing that he was the first recipient of a presti- his teaching, and who did so with an enthusiasm gious award. that was infectious. Anyone who ever met Paul could not have helped being struck by the figure Citation he presented: a six-foot-three-inch tall man, who Paul Joseph Sally Jr. has combined cutting-edge research later in his life was bald, had a black eye patch, with a parallel life-long commitment to education at all and had two prosthetic legs. levels—precollege, undergraduate, and graduate. As He lost his eyesight and his director of undergraduate studies at the University of legs to Type 1 diabetes that Chicago for over thirty years, he was a leading voice in had afflicted him since his the undergraduate program and was seen by many as teenage years. Those losses “a legendary math prof”. But what makes Paul Sally the seemed a hindrance neither to ideal recipient of the inaugural Award for Impact on his commanding yet cheerful the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics is his work, personality nor to his bot- which began in the 1960s and continued unabated to the tomless energy. He demanded day of his death, in which he established outreach pro- and received total devotion to grams for precollege teachers and precollege students. mathematics from those he Courtesy of the University Chicago. worked with,and in his later Important outreach programs that he founded in- Photo by Jason Smith. years was prone to provide clude Seminars for Elementary Specialists and Mathe- Paul J. Sally Jr. the explanation, “because it is matics Educators (SESAME) that provides State of Illinois impossible to give a blind double amputee excuses middle school mathematics endorsement for teachers for shirking.” This last quotation is lifted from in the Chicago public schools, and the Young Scholars an unsigned memorial posted on the home page Program (YSP) for talented high school students from of the Mathematics Department at the University less than privileged backgrounds. He also cofounded of Chicago, but Paul was heard saying this many and served as director of the University of Chicago times himself. School Mathematics Program (UCSMP), spearheaded the Born in 1933 in Boston, Paul never lost the ac- founding of the Chicago Algebra Initiative, and led the cent of his hometown. When he visited MIT in 2007, mathematics component of Chicago’s Urban Teacher the Boston Globe ran an article about this colorful Education Program (UTEP). hometown hero. The article recounted a story Paul Not only did he establish programs in Chicago, but he told that was set in the Joint Mathematics Meet- was also instrumental in their expansion to other sites. ings. One of Paul's colleagues told Paul that he One of the purposes of the Award for Im- knew who was getting an award but he refused to pact on the Teaching and Learning of Mathemat- tell Paul who it was. So Paul enlisted the help of ics is to encourage research mathematicians to be Philip Kutzko of the University of Iowa to dangle actively engaged in replicable activities that improve the person from a hotel balcony until he did tell. mathematics learning and teaching, especially at the The story is apocryphal, but Paul milked it for precollege level and in the first two undergraduate all the humor he could get. “It was only the third years. Paul Sally’s career is a testament to the achieve- floor, but if we had dropped him, it would have ment of that goal and makes him an eminently excellent been serious,” he told the Globe. Later the article choice to be the inaugural recipient of this award. quoted Kutzko: “[Paul Sally is] unique because he’s this big powerful man, but his hallmark is that DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1090/noti1124 he nurtures people. The jokes are funny, but the MAY 2014 NOTICES OF THE AMS 515 reason his students and colleagues love him is that Policy, the Committee on Education, and the Nomi- he’s been there for people.” nating Committee. In 2013, he was among those Paul received his bachelor’s (1954) and master’s named in the initial class of Fellows of the AMS. (1956) degrees from Boston College. After teaching His other honors include the AMS Distinguished in Boston high schools and at Boston College—and Public Service Award (2000) and the Haimo Award also driving a cab and a moving truck while playing for Distinguished University Teaching from the plenty of basketball (he was an All-Scholastic basket- Mathematical Association of America (2002). ball player in high school and played varsity basket- When Paul received the AMS Distinguished ball at Boston College)—he entered the mathematics Public Service Award, the citation praised his doctoral program at Brandeis University. While in “longitudinal mentoring of students.” With his graduate school, he married fellow graduate student characteristic irreverent humor, Paul wrote in his Judith Donovan, now Judith D. Sally, Professor Emer- response that he was very honored to receive the itus of Mathematics at Northwestern University. Paul award “and as soon as I figure out what ‘longitu- earned a Ph.D. in 1965 under the direction of Ray dinal mentoring’ means, I’ll feel really good.” What Kunze and then joined the faculty at the University would he have written in response to receiving of Chicago, where he remained for the rest of his ca- the AMS Impact Award? This we cannot know. We reer. In 1967–1968, he was a member at the Institute will have to content ourselves with memories of for Advanced Study. There he came into contact with this unique individual who contributed so much Harish Chandra, who made a deep impression and to mathematics, to education, and to the people stimulated some of Paul’s best mathematical work, whose lives he touched. including his papers with Joseph Shalika on SL(2), There are several excellent sources of in- which ushered in an era of rapid development in formation about Paul Sally on the Web, including a harmonic analysis on reductive p-adic groups. Paul profile called “Sally marks the spot”, by Carrie had three other year-long stays at the IAS and, along Golus, University of Chicago Magazine, http:// with Murray Gerstenhaber, helped to found AMIAS magazine.uchicago.edu/0856/features/ (the Association of Members of the IAS). sally.shtml; and the video interviews with Paul Paul had thirty-seven publications in MathSciNet, Sally on the Science Lives website of the Simons and he supervised the Ph.D. theses of nineteen stu- Foundation, https://www.simonsfoundation. dents. His noteworthy research accomplishments org/science_lives_video/paul-sally/. were intertwined with his main love: teaching. Arnold Ross, founder of the celebrated program at About the Award Ohio State University for mathematically talented The AMS Award for Impact on the Teaching and high school students, once said that outstanding Learning of Mathematics was established by the teachers are “people who respect struggles with AMS Committee on Education (COE) in 2013. The ideas and have gone through that themselves and Award is given annually to a mathematician (or were victors.” This was true of Paul. In fact, one of group of mathematicians) who has made signifi- his favorite mottoes was “To teach math, you better cant contributions of lasting value to mathematics know some.” (Paul was a great admirer of Ross and education. Priorities of the award include recog- in 1996 established an endowment that today helps nition of (a) accomplished mathematicians who to fund the AMS Arnold Ross Lecture series.) In 1988, have worked directly with precollege teachers to Paul launched his own Young Scholars Program at enhance teachers’ impact on mathematics achieve- the University of Chicago for seventh to twelfth ment for all students or (b) sustainable and replica- grade students. By that time he had had a great deal ble contributions by mathematicians to improving of experience working with students and teachers in the mathematics education of students in the first the Chicago public schools. In 1983, the University two years of college. The US$1,000 award is given of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) was annually. The recipient is selected by the COE. The founded, and Paul was named director. He served in endowment fund that supports the award was es- that post until 1987, when he became more involved tablished in 2012 by a contribution from Kenneth in the staff development activities of UCSMP. I. and Mary Lou Gross in honor of their daughters, In 1992, he started SESAME (Seminars for El- Laura and Karen. The award is presented by the ementary Specialists and Mathematics Educators), AMS COE acting on the recommendation of a which has since reached over 600 teachers from 125 selection subcommittee. For the inaugural award, schools. Many aspects of the programs he ran were the members of the subcommittee were Arthur emulated by other programs around the country. Benjamin, Irwin Kra (chair), and Kay Somers. Paul had a long association with the AMS and served the Society in several capacities: He was a member — Kenneth I.
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