By News and Internal Communications

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – OCT. 27, 2023 – UTRGV endowed professor Dr. Cristina Villalobos has been awarded the 2024 M. Gweneth Humphreys Award by the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM).

She was selected “for her exceptional success in mentoring and its subsequent impact on the mathematical profession as a whole,” according to the AWM.

Villalobos – a Myles and Sylvia Aaronson Endowed Professor in UTRGV’s School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences – said she is honored to receive this award, especially because its focus is on the mentorship of women undergraduate students.

“Mentorship requires genuine interest, commitment and intentionality over the years, to provide guidance and opportunities for students and their career trajectories,” she said. “I am proud of the success of these women, who now serve as colleagues and collaborators in grant projects, in research, and in teaching effectiveness. Most importantly, they serve as role models and mentors in preparing the next generation of mathematicians and STEM professionals.

“In reality, my students’ success is my success,” she said. 

AWM’s announcement of the award spotlights the effects Villalobos has had on mathematics through her various mentorship roles. 

“Her individual work with students is amplified considerably by the University’s Center for Excellence in STEM Education, which she founded in 2011 through a grant awarded her from the Department of Defense,” the release states. “The Center’s work ranges from outreach to secondary schools through sponsoring hundreds of events that bring mathematics to local high schools, to creating a sense of community among STEM students at UTRGV, to leading mathematical science students into REUs and graduate programs, to guiding her mentees in their eventual job searches and professional careers.” 

The release also cites Villalobos’ other accomplishments, including:

• The 2019 Richard A. Tapia Achievement Award for Scientific Scholarship, Civic Science and Diversifying Computing, awarded by the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology.
• And the highly prestigious 2020 U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

ADDITIONAL HONORS

Villalobos, who also serves as associate dean for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness in the UTRGV College of Sciences, was interim director of the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences from 2015-2017. In that role, she helped transition the school through the first two years of UTRGV and increased the number of Latino/a and women faculty, along with leading the development and implementation of initiatives still being utilized at the university.

• In 2022, she was elected UTRGV’s first Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), “for contributions to modelling and optimization and for broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in mathematics.”
• And in 2023 was featured in the Nature Computational Science journal for her work in empowering underrepresented groups in STEM education.

Her students have gone on to work in the mathematical sciences in a range of positions, many to graduate programs, many teaching at secondary school and university levels. Others now are employed in multiple kinds of industries.

Dr. Vivian Incera, dean of the UTRGV College of Sciences, said Villalobos is a strong leader dedicated to guiding her students to a successful future. 

“Dr. Villalobos serves as a role model for our faculty and for the future generations of female mathematicians she nurtures day-after-day with her dedication and mentoring,” Incera said. “Her commitment to her students means they are always ready to move on to the next step in their education or career. Her innovative thinking extends beyond mathematics and into her teaching methods.

“We congratulate Dr. Villalobos on this newest, well-deserved honor, and thank the Association for Women in Mathematics for recognizing her commitment to creative pedagogy,” she said.

ABOUT THE AWARD

Professor M. Gweneth Humphreys (1911–2006) earned a master's degree from Smith College and a PhD at age 23 from the University of Chicago in 1935. She taught mathematics to women for her entire career, at Mount St. Scholastica College, Sophie Newcomb College, and finally for more than 30 years at Randolph-Macon Woman's College.

This award, funded by contributions from her former students and colleagues at Randolph-Macon Woman's College, recognizes her commitment to and her profound influence on undergraduate students of mathematics.

The 2024 award will be presented to Villalobos at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, scheduled for Jan. 3 - 6, 2024, in San Francisco.