As president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Dr. Fennell goes the distance to ensure that students everywhere have access to top-quality mathematics education.

Francis "Skip" Fennell, professor of Education, has been elected president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). His one-year term of service as president-elect will begin at the end of NCTM’s annual meeting in April 2005 followed by a two-year term as NCTM president beginning in April 2006. The full-time position will require Fennell to take a leave of absence from his teaching at McDaniel.

"This honor usually goes to an educator from a large university, " says College President Joan Develin Coley. "It’s a double tribute to our colleague Skip whose expertise has earned national renown, but also his election reflects well on liberal arts institutions like ours."

Founded in 1920, NCTM is the world's largest mathematics education organization located in Reston, Va., with nearly 100,000 members and 250 Affiliates throughout the United States and Canada. Amy Rice Mirra, class of 1997 and electronic resources coordinator for NCTM, is thrilled with Fennell’s election. "He has been a wonderful mentor to me since my days as a student on the Hill and will surely inspire math educators nationwide."

NCTM is a public voice of mathematics education, providing vision, leadership, and professional development to support teachers in ensuring mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students.

A familiar and popular speaker at NCTM conferences, Fennell relishes the opportunity to sound out for improved learning and teaching of mathematics. His current consultancy with the National Science Foundation positions him ideally to take on the federal education opinion leaders. Plus as an avid runner averaging 30-plus miles a week, there’s no holding this educator back.

He defines leadership as "having the courage and conviction to know what’s important and not being satisfied until it’s accomplished."

A professor at McDaniel since 1976, is also the winner of the 2000 Glenn Gilbert National Leadership Award from the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics and in 1997 was named the Maryland Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.