Colleges / Campus scene : Math Professor Takes Top Faculty Honor

Mario U. Martelli, professor of mathematics, has been chosen Cal State Fullerton’s Outstanding Professor for 1996. The honor is bestowed on one faculty member each year.

Martelli was nominated by his colleagues in the mathematics department, who praised his teaching talents and internationally respected research.

“Mario is a truly remarkable teacher,” his colleagues wrote in the nomination papers. “Students adore him, seek him out, follow him around, take his classes in record numbers and seek his counsel on academic and nonacademic matters.”

Students on the campus have written poems about Martelli and even formed a fan club, complete with T-shirts.

Martelli said he cares deeply about empowering his students with an education that extends beyond the classroom.

“Students learn much more than a course of content from their instructors,” he said. “They learn respect for others, good standards of personal behavior, tolerance toward each other’s opinion, appreciation for different cultures, love for knowledge beyond what is established by the strict school’s requirement.”