Since moving to Decorah, Iowa in 1993 to join the faculty at Luther College, Ruth Berger has been active in the Iowa Section. She is a faithful attendee and regular presenter at the annual section meetings. But Ruth’s commitment goes far beyond that. For most of the last two decades she has also served as either an officer or committee chair for the section.

Serving as vice-chair, Ruth organized the section meeting in spring 1998 and she continued her service on the section executive committee as chair and past chair. This was followed by a term (2001-2004) as section governor.

Further, Ruth's commitment to the section and to undergraduate mathematics education is best exemplified through her service as coordinator/director of the Iowa Collegiate Mathematics Competition. The competition is in its 22nd year and Ruth Berger has been its driving force for the last 15 of those years. Undergraduates from across the state work in teams of three to solve challenging mathematics problems in order to lay claim to the traveling trophy, a blown-glass Klein bottle. Ruth faithfully organizes all the details for the competition each year, finding an expert problem-writer to draft contest problems, overseeing arrangements on the host campus, publicizing the competition across the state, registering teams from participating colleges and universities, and organizing faculty to score the students' work. The competition owes its success to Ruth’s continuing dedication.

The Certificates of Meritorious Service are presented for service at the national level or for service to a Section of the Association. Professor Meyer was nominated by the Iowa Section. His citation reads in part: Professor Meyer received his B.A. degree from Central College in 1957, M.A. degree from the University of Iowa in 1959 and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1962 in point set topology. In 1963 he joined the faculty at Central College and has remained there except for leaves at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Wisconsin, the State University of New York at Binghampton, the University of Georgia, and Iowa State University. While at Central College, Professor Meyer has served as chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science for 18 years. In 1984 he was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Performance Award. In the last fifteen years Professor Meyer has served the Iowa Section in an exemplary fashion. He has served as Section Chair (1978-79), Governor (1983-86), and Newsletter Editor (1984-86,1991-95) for the Section.

The Iowa Section of MAA is honored to nominate Professor Arlington Fink for a Meritorious Service Award. Professor Fink received his B. A. degree form Wartburg College in 1956 and his Ph.D from Iowa State University in 1960. He was a member of the Mathematics faculty at the University of Virginia from 1960 to 1962 and the University of Nebraska from 1962 to 1967. In 1967 he joined the Mathematics Department at Iowa State University, and has remained there but for leaves to the University of Colorado (1967-68), Hans Oersted Instiute in Copenhagen (1972), the University of Minnesota (1974-76), and the University of Queensland (1989).

In the last 20 years, no one has done more for College and University Mathematics in the State of Iowa than Professor Fink. He has served both as Chair and Governor of the Iowa Section, and has been a Section Lecturer since 1987. As section chair he started our tradition of making our Section Meeting joint with that of the Iowa Section of SIAM and ASA. This collaboration has helped attendance at our meetings and made for a richer program. The Iowa Section always runs a very successful student paper program at is section meetings: Professor Fink was instrumental in starting these student paper sessions many years ago. Professor Fink has also given about 25 talks to undergraduate students at various csolleges in and around Iowa. These talks are on a variety of subjects, and are designed to encourage undergraduates to pursue advanced degrees in mathematics.

The Iowa Section has also benefited from Professor Fink’s reputation as a research mathematician. In the 30 years since he received his Ph.D., Professor Fink has published 69 research papers and one textbook. Professor Fink remains active and productive today in such areas as differential equations, optimization, and control theory. He is highly respected not only in Iowa, but throughout the world, for his reputation as a researcsh mathematician. Nontheless, Professor Fink devotes a good deal of time to his interactions with students, expecting high standards, but also setting them by example. Graduate students expecially recognize that working with Professor Fink will be a challenging but rewarding learning experience. He has nine Ph.D. students to his credit to testify to this.

The Iowa Section of the Mathematical Association of America thanks Professor A. M. Fink for many years of valuable service and cont ributions.

Anne K. Steiner
Governor, Iowa Section

At the April, 1985 meeting of the Iowa Section, Professor Basil Gilliam, retired Professor of Mathematics at Drake University, was nominated to receive a certificate for Meritorious Service for the service he has given to the Iowa Section in the past years. Normally, your governor would present this nomination at the annual January 1986 meeting and the award would be presented at the following summer meeting. Because of the ICM there are no joint AMS/MAA summer meetings in 1986. Thus the Board is shifting each event by half a year.

Our nomination will be made to the Board in August, 1986. With the Board's approval, the public presentation of the certificate will be made at the January 1987 meeting in San Antonio. We expect the nomination will be approved.

Congratulations, Basil! The award shall become official in due time.