COMAP is pleased to announce that Dr. Kathleen (Kathi) Snook is the recipient of the 2022 Doug Faires Lifetime Achievement Award.

About Kathi Snook

Kathi has been at the heart of COMAP’s international mathematical contests in modeling for many years. Starting as a Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM®) triage judge in the 1990s, she has triaged and/or final judged in every COMAP contest, written and edited many contest problems, and served as the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM®) Director as well as the U.S. Regional Senior Judge for the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IM2C®). 

In 2021, she initiated the Middle Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MidMCM®), COMAP’s newest contest for middle school/level students, and became its first Director.

In the past two years, Kathi was responsible for coordinating a series of COMAP transitions aimed at continuing into the future COMAP’s positive-first-derivative trajectory of improvements in mathematics and modeling education.

As COMAP’s first Director of Operations, Kathi planned and facilitated our semi-annual Contest Director meetings, adding a level of organization, coordination, and communication that has improved the operations of all contests. Kathi managed the redesign and construction of our new website, which includes a new look, improved search capability for COMAP’s many resources, and a blog.

Recently retired, Kathi has stepped back from day-to-day COMAP activities; but her imprint will remain on all that we do and how we present ourselves to our community. She will always remain a valued and beloved member of the COMAP family. 

In Her Own Words

“I am honored to receive the Doug Faires Award from COMAP. I did not personally know Doug, but I am humbled to be seen as even attempting to emulate his example as an educator and mathematics modeler.

“I began to work with COMAP in the mid-1990s. I wrote, reviewed, and edited materials, including ILAPs. My modeling contest activities began with triage judging at the MCM.

“After I retired from the army and moved to Massachusetts in the early 2000s, COMAP’s Executive Director Sol Garfunkel invited me to work on curricular and professional development projects. These projects helped to expand my education experience to the elementary and secondary levels.

“When COMAP recently reorganized its structure, I was honored to serve as the first Director of Operations and continue my work with contest coordination and outreach. I am so grateful to all those whom I crossed paths with along the way. Thank you for your impact, guidance, support, and friendship.”

About the Doug Faires Lifetime Achievement Award

In memory of Doug Faires, a gifted teacher and mathematics educator, the purpose of the Doug Faires Lifetime Achievement award is to recognize individuals for their many years of service or who in one special year made outstanding contributions to mathematics education in the spirit of Doug. Doug was a master at getting the best out of those around him, encouraging them to recognize their own potential, and mentoring them to achievements far beyond their expectations. The recipient is acknowledged as emulating Doug, who as a dedicated teacher believed in the power of mathematical modeling to motivate students at all levels and to lead them on a path to life-long learning.

This is an excerpt taken from the full announcement. To read more about Kathi and this award, download the announcement here.