Limestone's Dr. Yan Gong Receives 2021 SCICU "Excellence In Teaching" Award

Limestone University Professor Dr. Yan Gong was one of 20 faculty members across the state to win the 2021 “Excellence In Teaching” award presented recently by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU).

According to rigorous guidelines, a faculty member from each of SCICU’s 20 member colleges and universities is nominated for the “Excellence In Teaching” award. Each year, the 20 award recipients receive a framed award certificate and a $3,000 professional development grant. For the first 13 years of the SCICU program, award recipients and their guests were honored at a special dinner in April during “South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Week.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dinner was cancelled in 2020 and again for 2021.

In place of the 2021 awards dinner, college and university presidents held campus awards presentations for their “Excellence In Teaching” recipients.

“We are proud of Dr. Yan Gong for all she continues to do to make Limestone’s mathematics department so strong and successful,” said Limestone University President Dr. Darrell Parker. “She is a collaborative and supportive colleague, and an engaged member of the University’s community. Dr. Gong is considered a connected educator to her students, and fellow faculty members hold her in very high regard.”

Gong holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from North Carolina State University, an M.S. in Econometrics, and a B.S. in Engineering Thermal Science and Management, both from Tsinghua University (Beijing, China).

She is in her second decade of service at Limestone University. Gong’s course load includes college-level Algebra, Mathematics for the Liberal Arts, Statistics, Calculus, and upper-level mathematics courses including Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Numerical Analysis, and Modern Algebra. She currently serves as the course coordinator for intermediate Algebra and Elementary Statistics.

In addition to her classroom leadership, for more than a decade Gong has been a key member of Limestone’s nationally-honored Women In Technology and Science (WITS) program. In 2011 and 2020, she received repeat recognitions with Limestone’s Fullerton Award for Teaching Excellence.

Gong’s research interests are in the Immersed Interface Methods – numerical solutions of partial differential equations involving interfaces and irregular domains.

“The 20 SCICU member institutions share a deep commitment to student achievement,” said SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez. “The SCICU Excellence In Teaching Award recipients embody that dedication by providing an education that is second-to-none and inspiring their students to become leaders in their professions and communities.”