By Nicole Herzog
The L&S Continuity of Instruction Award acknowledges graduate students from the College of Letters & Science who have demonstrated exceptional progression of instruction support to their department or provided students with exceptional experience in a remote instructional setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mays was selected from a competitive group of nominees, indicating his dedicated efforts to the Statistics department, his students and the overall educational mission of UW-Madison.
“I’m ecstatic to receive this award,” Mays said. “The recognition is exciting, of course, but I am first and foremost glad that I was able to do right by my students despite the difficulties brought by the pandemic.”
Excellence in teaching is a core value of the Statistics Department, according to Chair of the Statistics Department TA Committee Cecile Ane, who nominated Mays for the award.
“All graduate students made essential contributions to moving Statistics courses to be taught remotely during the pandemic,” Ane said. “Michael’s contributions were outstanding, both in the courses that he taught and in the Statistics team that supported the department’s instructors and TAs. It was fantastic to have Michael on our team. We are delighted that Michael was honored with this award.”