David P. Sumner, a professor in the Department of Mathematics, has won the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southeast Section of the Mathematical Association of America (AMA). He was selected from all other college and university mathematics faculty in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama and will be the Southeast Section's nominee for the AMA's national Haimo Award for teaching.

"I'm certainly happy to win the award,” said Sumner, adding that it was completely unexpected. "Our department has a number of truly excellent teachers and it's nice to be able to represent them with this honor."

Sumner, who has won eight other teaching awards, including the Michael J. Mungo Award and the Amoco Outstanding Teacher Award, specializes in combinatorics and graph theory. He has directed the theses for six doctoral students, 12 master's students, and has 30 publications in refereed journals.

When he was the department's chair, Bob Stephenson said it was always a pleasure to review students' outstanding ratings of Sumner's teaching. "A typical student comment was, 'Dr. Sumner is the best teacher I've ever had in my life. He's a genius and he knows how to explain things so we can understand. He never makes fun of students or acts like we're wasting his time if we ask questions.'"

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