Carol Malloy has been a voice and a leader in mathematics education throughout her groundbreaking career. For more than four decades, the mathematics education community has felt her strong presence as a role model and an exemplar of the power of sincerity, grace, persistence, and action.
Following her retirement from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Malloy has continued to be actively involved in NCTM. She has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to mathematics education, and has extensive experience as a mathematics teacher at the middle school, high school, and university levels in urban school districts. Not only did she provide a strong foundation in mathematics education to her students, but she also emphasized the role of mathematics education for addressing inequities in education.
In 2008, Malloy was selected to present the first annual Iris Carl M. Equity Address. Her talk, "Celebrating the Legacy of Iris Carl through Our Practice," was a highlight of the NCTM Annual Meeting that year. Throughout her career, Malloy has worked to address the inequities that African American, Latino, and Native American students face in learning mathematics. Malloy's vision is that every mathematics educator must provide African American students with full access to high-quality mathematics education for success in the classroom and society. Her passion is deeply rooted in data and real-life evidence demonstrating that all students can learn rich, high-level mathematics if given opportunities to engage in worthwhile, rigorous mathematics tasks in a supportive environment.
"Dr. Malloy challenged me to think more deeply and critically about mathematics and the teaching of mathematics," recalled one nominator. "She has a way of pushing and stretching you intellectually to a point where you are amazed at your own growth as a scholar and thinker."
Another nominator "learned to love Carol's 'up front, in-your-face' charm … that charming confrontational style of hers immediately got my attention to make an important point! From that moment forward, I knew that Carol Malloy was someone to listen to, and always think about what she had to say!"
Malloy has served on the NCTM Board of Directors, edited yearbooks, reviewed journal manuscripts, written journal articles, served on committees, given countless presentations, and been elected president of the Benjamin Banneker Association, an NCTM Affiliate. Her countless contributions to NCTM publications are noteworthy and include serving on the writing team for
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
"Whatever she wrote about in NCTM journals and publications, and other journals in our field, she never lost the perspective of the classroom teacher. She always pushes her audience, but does so with the respect and appreciation for the challenges of classroom teaching."
Malloy's impact as a phenomenal teacher and mentor has been recognized by others. In 2010, she was awarded the first annual UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education Black Alumni Impact Award. Malloy is currently serving as a lead author for Glencoe/McGraw-Hill K-12 school mathematics programs.
Carol Malloy died on January 17, 2015.