NCTM to Inaugurate Iris M. Carl Equity Address at Annual Meeting

Reston, Va., February 20, 2008 -The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) announces the establishment of the Iris M. Carl Equity Address in honor of Iris Carl, a past president who championed mathematics literacy for all.

Beginning in 2008, the address will feature a selected speaker at the NCTM Annual Meeting and Exposition. Each year a distinguished mathematics educator, noted for making significant contributions to research in education equality, will be invited to give the address.

Carol E. Malloy has been selected to give the inaugural Iris M. Carl Equity Address. She will deliver the featured session, "Celebrating the Legacy of Iris Carl through Our Practice," on Friday, April 11, at 11:00 a.m. in the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Malloy, an associate professor in mathematics education at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has focused her research on equity and reform in education, with particular emphasis on the role that culture plays in the learning of mathematics. Throughout her career she has sought to identify ways in which educators can help students who have difficulty learning mathematics. She has specifically focused her efforts on assisting African-American, Latino, and Native American students, who often lack opportunities to study rigorous mathematics that can lead to a full range of career opportunities. To that end, she has worked in local, regional, and national professional organizations for equal opportunity and quality in education, with an emphasis in mathematics.

Malloy has been active in the Benjamin Banneker Association since 1991 and served as its president from 1996 to 1998. She was a member of the NCTM Board of Directors from 1998 to 2002 and was a writer of NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics .

The newly established Iris M. Carl Equity Address posthumously recognizes Carl's work in placing NCTM at the forefront of the public debate on the importance of curricular standards. She was also a well-respected public voice in support of mathematics education through testimony before Congress and in the news media. Carl served as NCTM president from 1990 to 1992. In 1997, she received the Mathematics Education Trust Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her lifelong commitment to mathematics education. Carl died in 2004.

Nominations of candidates to deliver the Iris M. Carl Equity Address in future years will be solicited from the Council's membership, and the selection will be made by a panel headed by the NCTM president.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a public voice of mathematics education, providing vision, leadership, and professional development to support teachers in ensuring mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students. With more than 100,000 members and 230 Affiliates, NCTM is the world's largest organization dedicated to improving mathematics education in prekindergarten through grade 12. The Council's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics includes guidelines for excellence in mathematics education. Its Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics , released in 2006, identifies the most important mathematical topics for each grade level.

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