Admissions

December 15, 2006 -- It is with deep sadness and shock that the College announces that Steven Galovich, Professor of Mathematics and former Provost and Dean of the Faculty, passed away last night in his home in Waukegan. He was sixty-one years old, and is survived by his two daughters, Alex and Anna, and a new grandchild, Max, aged nine months.

In addition to being a highly talented academic dean, Steve, as he was known, was also a skilled and accomplished mathematician who received BA and BS degrees from the University of California-Davis and a Ph.D. from Brown. He specialized in number theory and was known for his excellent writing and his advocacy for writing in mathematics, winning the Carl. B. Allendoerfer Award for expository writing in mathematics in 1988.

Even though he staunchly maintained his allegiance to the State of California, Steve came to love the Midwest where he spent more than three decades, including twenty years at Carleton College, where he taught and served as Associate Dean of Faculty, and the past dozen years here at Lake Forest.

A central personality and vital force at Lake Forest College since his arrival in 1994, Steve served as Provost and Dean of the Faculty for ten years. Among many other accomplishments, he spearheaded the creation of the Learning and Teaching Center and the annual Student Symposium, programs now integral to the College's identity. He also was the architect in the mid-1990s, with David Spadafora, of the combination of the Library and Information Technology departments, and was an early, strong and effective advocate of library improvements that led to the renovation and expansion of the College’s Donnelley and Lee Library.

With a unique appreciation of bad puns, Steve faced his daily tasks with a distinctive brand of humor that brought a bright spirit to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and to most other corners of the College. Delighted by his recent return to teaching mathematics full time, Steve had his fall syllabi prepared by last June and was able to teach his 230 course from the recently-published second edition of his book, "Doing Mathematics." He had just finished teaching a new First-year Studies course of his own design on quantitative reasoning, about which he was very enthusiastic. His students have described his teaching as "excellent" and "absolutely great," consistently mentioning his willingness to take time to help them, and his wonderful first year advising.

Steve was an active participant in the well-respected and successful "Linking Learning Communities" grant with our Education Department and the Waukegan public schools, and was involved in several grant-related committees. He very recently presented a talk entitled "Rules to Chair By: The Seven Principles of Highly Effective Chairs" at the ACM FaCE conference for department chairs, giving excellent advice and telling some new light bulb jokes to wide acclaim. Happy and successful in what has turned out to be the final chapter of his rich and accomplished life, Steve will be long and deeply missed. His loss is great and astoundingly sad.

A memorial service for Steve was held on Wednesday, December 20 in the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel on campus.

To read a tribute to Steven Galovich written by Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Bob Holliday, please visit this Web site: http://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/programs/macs/galovich.asp

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