JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Melinda Denton, assistant professor of mathematics at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP), recently was honored with the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recipients of this year’s awards received their plaques and a letter from Missouri Gov. Mike Parson by mail.
Denton was recognized Thursday following the annual State of the University address by MSU System President Clif Smart and MSU-WP Interim Chancellor Dennis Lancaster at the West Plains Civic Center theater.
The annual award honors outstanding faculty from post-secondary public schools, colleges and universities within the state. The recipients were selected by their respective institutions for effective teaching, innovation in course design and delivery, effective advising, service to the institution’s community, and commitment to high standards of excellence.
“Every math teacher alive should receive an award in my mind, but Melinda – as indicated by the significance of the Governor’s Award for Teaching – deserves something just a little bit more,” MSU-WP Interim Chancellor Dennis Lancaster said.
“Day in and day out through the course of the school year, she guides our students through those critically important concepts of math needed by our students to reach the level required in their degree program. And she does so with care and patience, going out of her way often to ensure the student ‘gets it’ so he or she can be successful. Not everyone can teach math; Missouri State-West Plains is very glad that Melinda Denton can and, more importantly, that she does it with notable excellence,” Lancaster added.
In nominating Denton for the award, her peers praised her for her efforts in teaching mathematics, “a subject that many students dread and often feel they cannot master.”
Her peers described her as “an educator who recognizes that students often do not have the necessary skill set to master college algebra,” but pointed out she is passionate about helping them successfully develop those skills.
Her students’ success can be traced back to Denton’s ability to use diverse teaching techniques, which allow her to present the material in a way that enables her students to master the material, her peers noted.
She advocates for math literacy, realizing that not all students will use advanced mathematics skills in their chosen careers, and she is a champion of student success and effective teaching, her peers said in the nomination.
Denton has been a full-time member of the Missouri State-West Plains faculty for nine years. During that time, she has chaired the curriculum committee and served on other institutional committees.
She received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Missouri Southern University in May 1987 and her Master of Science in Mathematics from Pittsburg State University in July 1990.
For more information about degree offerings at Missouri State-West Plains and how you can apply, visit wp.missouristate.edu or call 417-255-7955.
