It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Christian R. Hirsch, who will be remembered for his leadership and contributions to secondary mathematics and the mathematics education community. Hirsch was a 2014 recipient of the
NCTM Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hirsch was the driving force behind the Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP), which, with support from the National Science Foundation, developed a research-based high school curriculum. CPMP was an integrated secondary curriculum that significantly impacted national high school mathematics adoptions over a period of more than 20 years.
Hirsch joined the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) as a high school mathematics teacher and was actively involved as a member for more than 40 years. His contributions to the mission of the Council were extensive and far-reaching. Hirsch served on the NCTM Board of Directors, was a member of the first Commission on Standards for School Mathematics, and chaired the grades 9-12 working group for the Council's influential
Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, published in 1989. Hirsch was also editor of the Addenda Series for grades 9-12, an NCTM Yearbook, and the Yearbook series editor. Hirsch also led an NCTM Task Force to develop online tools and support high school mathematics teachers in using and teaching with technology.
Hirsch joined the Western Michigan University mathematics department faculty in 1973. His over forty years of contributions were recognized, and Hirsch was named a Distinguished Faculty Scholar and the James H. Powell Professor of Mathematics. He also served for two years at the National Science Foundation.