Maria Lorenz, professor of instruction in the Department of Mathematics, has earned Temple University's Great Teacher Award.
Established in 1988 by the Board of Trustees, the Temple University Great Teacher Awards recognize faculty members annually for their continuous excellence in teaching. Each award carries a stipend of $15,000, and each awardee receives a commemorative sculpture and framed certificate. In addition, each recipient's name is engraved on the Great Teachers Wall in the Founder's Garden. The awards are presented at a special convocation in spring which honors individual winners and their contributions to Temple's tradition of teaching excellence.
Temple students and faculty recognize extraordinary teaching and appreciate its result - extraordinary learning. But in the culture of academia, all too often teaching is less publicly rewarded than published research, and there is little recognition of the interconnections between scholarly excellence and teaching excellence. With the Great Teacher Awards, the university recognizes and honors Temple's excellent teachers on behalf of students.
Lorenz has been a full-time faculty member in the Mathematics Department since 2001. She is the director of undergraduate studies for the department. Lorenz has earned several awards for teaching, mentoring and service, including the Lindback Distinguished Teacher Award, Temple University Outstanding Faculty Service Award, the College of Science and Technology Award for Student Mentoring and the Steven Petchon Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Within the Mathematics Department, Lorenz has served as an academic advisor to undergraduate students, faculty advisor for the undergraduate Math Club for the Association for Women in Mathematics Student Chapter. As a member of the Provost’s Teaching Academy, Lorenz has also enjoyed the opportunity to teach and mentor graduate students in mathematics as they earn the university’s Teaching in Higher Education certificate. In addition, Lorenz has had the privilege of participating in, as well as facilitating, many events at the Center for the Advancement for Teaching, where she is a Faculty Fellow. Lorenz, together with Irina Mitrea, chair of the Mathematics Department, has organized numerous outreach events for middle and high school students.