Math educator Joanne Moldenhauer, originally from Nebraska, garnered many accolades for her work in the classroom. Photo credit: Peter McCollough of the Daily Democrat.

I enjoy sharing stories about talented educators who have earned honors for their work in the classroom. One of these was Joanne Moldenhauer, a high school math teacher originally from Omaha, Nebraska.

Joanne was born on March 15, 1928, in Omaha. As a young girl, she attended Benson High School in her home town. In 1949, Joanne earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physics at Iowa State College. Three years later she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.

Joanne inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a math teacher in Omaha. For the next two years she taught mathematics and biology at Central High School in Omaha. She worked for a while for the General Electric company, but by 1955, she was teaching high school math at Central Park Junior High School in Schenectady, New York, and the following year, she was teaching at Davis Senior High School in Davis, California. Her career there spanned 50 years, until her retirement in 2006.

During her years as a teacher in Davis, Joanne won many accolades for her work in the classroom. She garnered the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished High School Mathematics Teaching from the Mathematical Association of American two times, in 19990 and 2001. Stanford University honored her with their Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Award, given each year to a distinguished high school teacher from the school’s graduating engineering students. She also earned the Harvey Mudd College Distinguished Teacher Award twice. In 1991, Joanne was one of the two first participants in the Uman-Davis Sister City Teacher Exchange in Ukraine.

This exceptional educator passed away on February 14, 2016. She was 87 years old. Joanne Moldenhauer: a true Chalkboard Champion.