Professor of the Year Sees Order through the Lens of Faith

At the Commencement ceremony on May 16, Dr. David Klanderman, professor of mathematics, was awarded the title of Professor of the Year.

Klanderman has spent more than half of his life teaching at Trinity, having served on Trinity’s faculty since 1990.

“I’m very honored to be chosen from among many others who are equally deserving,” Klanderman said recently. “I see the award as emblematic of the great teaching on this campus.”

Evidenced not only by the books on his office shelves, but by the speed and enthusiasm with which he discusses math, Klanderman’s love of the discipline is exceeded only by his love of teaching it.

Into his students, Klanderman pours his knowledge of statistics and abstract algebra and numerical analysis. However, the most important part of the equation in his teaching is the integration of the Christian faith. He and his students discuss infinity, patterns embedded in creation, and even the concept of God’s omnipresence.

He said the most rewarding moment in teaching is when a student reaches that moment of understanding. “When the light turns on, that is the payoff in teaching,” Klanderman said.

Klanderman’s dedication to teaching extends to his work with middle school math students through his oversight of Trinity’s annual Math Triathlon.

Since the math triathlon’s inception, over 6,400 participants from many middle schools and states have taken part. Some of the visiting math teachers are Trinity alumni who bring their teams to the competitions and first participated themselves as either a middle school student, a Trinity student, or both.

“When students apply for admission to Trinity, they often remember their experiences with the Triathlon as one reason they chose to pursue math or math education at the college level,” Klanderman said.

The annual spring event is planned and hosted by the College’s math department. Other Triathlon events include an annual event for student in grades 3-6 at various Christian schools and the Traveling Triathlon, which is held in alternate years in January. Klanderman and his colleagues in the math and math education departments lead their students in writing the problems and solutions for individual, team, and relay events. Trinity students also design potential halftime activities and administer the triathlons.

Klanderman also shares how mathematics, and therefore God’s divine order, is evident in all majors within the liberal arts and life itself. In a spring semester chapel talk, he pointed students to the patterns and structures they see in nature, such as the spirals of a pinecone.  He also showed students the visible patterns in fine arts, perspective in paintings, the ratios of violin string lengths, and the different argument forms in philosophy.

“I tell students that if they are willing to look at the world through the lens of math, they will see with a new perspective,”Klanderman said.