PITTSFIELD, MA — Berkshire Community College (BCC) recently awarded Professor Emeritus certificates to two professors of mathematics, Annette Guertin and Nancy Zuber. The certificates were presented at BCC's commencement ceremonies at Tanglewood on Friday, June 2, 2023.
The title "Professor Emeritus" is bestowed upon retiring faculty members at the time of their retirement by the BCC Board of Trustees. Candidates for emeritus status must have taught for at least 20 years in higher education, with a minimum of 15 years at BCC; must have achieved full professor rank; and must have retired from the College in good standing.
Annette Guertin was employed at BCC for 41 years, teaching classes ranging from Elementary Algebra to Math of Art and Nature. With the philosophy that math is everywhere — in nature, in the arts, in the sciences, in the mundane and in the extraordinary — Guertin taught math "as a way of thinking that ties everything else in life together," said BCC President Ellen Kennedy in her remarks. "Generations of students enjoyed success in math, sometimes for the very first time, because Annette made math matter to them."
Known as a collaborator, Guertin often teamed up with colleagues and students alike. She researched and implemented biofeedback methods that helped students far beyond the math classroom, tackling the common fear of math head-on.
"Like so many great teachers, Annette has a sense of humor and impeccable timing of delivery — as always, blending math and life in unexpected, entertaining and truly memorable ways," Kennedy said.
Nancy Zuber began her career at BCC 31 years ago, when she applied for a part-time job in the Math Lab. The mother of two small children, she simply wanted to get out of the house a few nights a week. But through her initial experience at BCC, she discovered teaching was her passion. Zuber taught a variety of mathematics classes, with a focus on algebra and calculus, for 30 years.
"Nancy's enthusiasm about math was contagious and inspiring," Kennedy said. "To Nancy, there was no such thing as being bad at math. There were only barriers educators had to help students overcome. Decades of successful teaching proved Nancy right."
Zuber helped establish BCC's math task force, which led to a reimagined pre-college math sequence. She was instrumental in adding free practice sessions, called "recitations," to math courses, and in updating the calculus sequence.