Kenneth B. Cummins Biography

Kenneth Cummins made many contributions to mathematics education during his 60 years of teaching. He loved to teach and was committed to helping his students learn. Gifts to the Kenneth B. Cummins Fund support Partner Affiliates of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in their efforts to provide better service to mathematics teachers and promote innovative projects that make NCTM and its Affiliates more visible to the public.

Cummins received his B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University and completed his Ph.D. in mathematics education at the Ohio State University. He taught secondary mathematics, science, Latin, and orchestra. Eventually, he left secondary education to teach mathematics at Kent State University (KSU), where he became chairman of the mathematics department. At KSU he conducted 16 National Science Foundation summer programs. He spoke at many conferences and conducted workshops on mathematics teaching, including more than 100 presentations at the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) and NCTM. He loved to study mathematics in various languages. During the last month of his life, he was studying advanced geometry in German.

Cummins received many awards and was honored as the first recipient of the OCTM Christofferson-Fawcett Award. The award recognized his 60 years of service in mathematics to the state of Ohio. He was twice awarded the KSU Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award and also received the KSU President's Medal for service to the school.

Kenneth B. Cummins died in 1998 at the age of 87.