Lindo Receives Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching

Haydee Lindo, associate professor of mathematics, has received the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) 2024 Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member.

The Alder award honors faculty whose teaching of undergraduate mathematics is extraordinarily effective and whose influence extends beyond the classroom. The MAA chooses up to three college or university professors each year to honor.

The awards committee cited Lindo’s “rigorous yet supportive approach to teaching, [which] is celebrated by students and colleagues alike, rooted in her belief that every student can excel in their course material.”

The award citation also highlighted Lindo’s dedicated mentorship of students, which includes providing “transformative research experiences” and guiding undergraduate students in completing publishable research in commutative algebra. Many of her students are now pursuing graduate studies in mathematics or related fields.

“I’m extraordinarily humbled by this award and take this as motivation to continue my growth as a math educator. I am extremely grateful to all my students and my colleagues in the Mudd Math Department for creating a vibrant community that nurtures great math, deep learning and inspired pedagogy.”

The award was presented Aug. 9 in Indianapolis at the MAA’s annual conference, MathFest. At the awards session, Lindo gave a presentation entitled “Shared Joy, Time, and Attention: Apprenticeship in Undergraduate Math Education.”

Lindo joined the Harvey Mudd Department of Mathematics in 2020 after serving as a Gaius Charles Bolin fellow and then assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Williams College. Lindo earned her PhD from the University of Utah. She is a commutative algebraist with research interests in homological algebra and representation theory. In 2021, Lindo received NSF funding to support her research, and research students, in developing the theory of trace modules within commutative algebra. Lindo has also received NSF funding to organize conferences for women in commutative algebra. She currently serves as an associate editor for the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, and encourages great math exposition outside of the classroom in her role as a Section Lecturer for the Mathematical Association of America.

Lindo is the seventh Harvey Mudd College faculty member to receive the award since its inception in 2003, and Harvey Mudd is the only college to appear more than twice on the Alder Award list. Past Harvey Mudd recipients of the award include: Professor of Mathematics Francis Su (2004), former Associate Professor of Mathematics Lesley Ward (2006), Professor of Mathematics Susan Martonosi (2012), former Professor of Mathematics Rachel Levy (2013), Professor of Mathematics Talithia Williams (2015) and former Professor of Mathematics Mohammed Omar (2018).