Stories

Dean’s Service Award

The Dean’s Service Award is given “In recognition of exemplary service in support of the College of Arts and Sciences. By honoring such leaders, the College demonstrates its commitment to College, University, community, and/or professional service as essential to our mission, governance, and enhancing our community of teaching scholars.”

Linda Burks does it all. She spearheads efforts to improve student performance in introductory math courses, is the founding director of the Mathematics Learning Center (MLC), and teaches expertly in her own classroom. In 2025–26, 42 undergraduate tutors provided 2,201 one-on-one appointments, led 432 course-specific group sessions, and welcomed students to 378 drop-in visits. Burks hires, trains, and supports the tutors, who receive additional training from campus partners, including CAPS, the Career Center, OML, and the Office of Student Life. For Burks, tutoring means helping students build skills that reach beyond the math classroom.

Her service also includes supporting faculty and improving courses. She helped develop the MATH 9 pre-calculus pilot, mentoring instructors, coordinating weekly meetings, and working with Educational Assessment to analyze results. She and colleagues created Math Advance, a free three-week online program that helps incoming students prepare for their math sequence.

Burks helped develop “Modules for Inclusion,” which faculty can add to Camino courses, and played a central role in a multi-year grant to improve the first-year experience in mathematics. Through this work, she continues to find meaningful ways to support students and colleagues.

Congratulations to Linda Burks, recipient of the 2026 Dean’s Service Award!