OU Zanesville’s Nguyen recognized for teaching and scholarship

Imagine a scholar with doctorate degrees from Poland and Vietnam and undergraduate and master’s degrees from Russia teaching first generation college students in Southeastern Ohio.

Viet Dung Nguyen not only brings a wealth of scholarly work with more than 40 publications in prestigious national and international journals in the field of mathematics, he also has teaching and research experience in six countries. This coupled with outstanding student evaluations garnered Nguyen the title of 2009 Ohio University Regional Campus Outstanding Professor Award.

Nguyen, an associate professor of mathematics at Ohio University-Zanesville, was recognized for his scholarship as well as his teaching and his ability to link mathematical concepts to other course material and real life is why Nguyen’s student evaluations are well above the University’s average.

“This man is an absolute brilliant instructor and an asset to OU. I hate math, but he made it easy for me,” quoted one of his developmental math students. One of his upper level student’s evaluations stated, “I have learned so much from him. He motivated me and kept me interested.”

Whether undergraduate student or scholar from outside the OU system, Nguyen is a well respected, knowledgeable and passionate teacher. His research, which has been cited by other scholars in the field numerous times, also demonstrates his commitment to continuous professional development, not only his own, but of colleagues throughout the world.

“What makes teaching challenging is the fact that the job is not simply to present the facts one knows so well in front of an audience,” Nguyen says. “But to build bridges of communication so that these facts can be delivered successfully. I think it is particularly important for the instructor to be sensitive towards students’ background and needs, know how to encourage and to challenge students appropriately.”

“Dung Nguyen is consistently one of our most outstanding faculty as measured by student evaluations, peer classroom visitations and other measures,” said Jim Fonseca, campus dean. “His student evaluations, in particular are quite an achievement given that many students approach math with trepidation and almost all are taking math as a requirement, not a choice.”

The award recognizes faculty members at Ohio University's five regional campuses who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. OU Zanesville has been fortunate to have several of its faculty recognized for excellence in teaching, clearly demonstrating that the Zanesville campus is an outstanding place for students to achieve their educational goals.