Isabelle P. Rucker Biography

Isabelle P. Rucker remains an inspiration to students and teachers of mathematics. A former teacher and supervisor of mathematics, she supports learning and professional development of future mathematics teachers. Her gift to the Mathematics Education Trust (MET) provides awards to undergraduate and graduate students who are committed to teaching mathematics in elementary, middle, or high school.

Rucker was a supervisor of mathematics at the Virginia State Department of Education in Richmond. She taught at the elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels. From 1939 to 1942 she taught in the Arlington Virginia County Schools, and from 1943 to 1944 she taught in the Sausalito California Schools. At the University of Virginia, she participated in summer mathematics institutes from 1953 to 1955 and the National Science Foundation Academic Year Institute from 1957 to 1958. She received her B.A. from Randolph-Macon Woman's College and her M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. She is listed in Leaders in American Science, Who's Who in American Education, and Who's Who of American Women.

As an active member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), she served as program chair for numerous meetings and represented the Council at many leadership conferences and committee meetings. She was also an active member of several other organizations, including the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Mathematical Society (AMS), Fibonacci Association, International Oceanographic Foundation, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), Virginia Academy of Sciences, Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM), National Education Association (NEA), Video Education Australasia (VEA), Greater Richmond and Tidewater Councils of Teachers of Mathematics, Central Association of Science and Mathematics Teachers (CASMT), Kappa Delta Pi, and Kappa Delta.

Isabelle P. Rucker died in 1996 at the age of 78. 


The Mathematics Education Trust was established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.