Ernest Duncan
Encyclopedia
Ernest R Duncan was a New Zealand
-born mathematician, Australia
n headmaster and American
professor
.
, and graduated from the University of Otago
. As an educator he rose to the position of inspector of schools for the New Zealand Education Department and made a significant contribution to the introduction of the new mathematics curriculum. He wrote text books that were extensively used in New Zealand primary schools and which were also published in the United States. In 1958 he moved to the North America as a university lecturer and he received his doctorate from Columbia University
.
, an inner-city Sydney
private boys school. He immediately proposed that the school should be moved to a larger site in the northern suburbs but this suggestion met with resistance from the college council. Before the end of the academic year he had resigned and returned to the United States.
and at the time of his retirement, in 1977, was chairman of the department of curriculum and instruction in the Graduate School of Education. In 1982 he set aside a Trust fund to endow annual awards for "excellent teachers of Mathematics" in New Zealand and the United States. He died in a Morristown, New Jersey
hospital of leukemia on November 25, 1990. He lived in Bernardsville, New Jersey
and was survived by his wife, Lois, two daughters and a son.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
-born mathematician, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n headmaster and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
Early career
Duncan was born in Clyde, New ZealandClyde, New Zealand
Clyde is a small town in Central Otago, New Zealand with a population of 918 in 2006. It is located on the Clutha River, between Cromwell and Alexandra....
, and graduated from the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
. As an educator he rose to the position of inspector of schools for the New Zealand Education Department and made a significant contribution to the introduction of the new mathematics curriculum. He wrote text books that were extensively used in New Zealand primary schools and which were also published in the United States. In 1958 he moved to the North America as a university lecturer and he received his doctorate from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Australian headmaster
In 1961, Duncan became headmaster of Newington CollegeNewington College
Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, an inner-city Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
private boys school. He immediately proposed that the school should be moved to a larger site in the northern suburbs but this suggestion met with resistance from the college council. Before the end of the academic year he had resigned and returned to the United States.
American professor
In 1962, Duncan became professor of mathematics at Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
and at the time of his retirement, in 1977, was chairman of the department of curriculum and instruction in the Graduate School of Education. In 1982 he set aside a Trust fund to endow annual awards for "excellent teachers of Mathematics" in New Zealand and the United States. He died in a Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
hospital of leukemia on November 25, 1990. He lived in Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville is a borough and affluent suburb in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Bernardsville has the 10th-highest per capita income in the state. Nationwide, Bernardsville ranks 75th among the 100 highest-income places in the United States...
and was survived by his wife, Lois, two daughters and a son.
Sources
- D. S. Macmillan, Newington College 1863–1963 (Syd, 1963)
- P. L. Swain, Newington Across the Years 1863–1998 (Syd, 1999)
- A. H. McLintock, Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 'Expatriates – Biographies' (N.Z., 1966)
External links
- The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Obituary http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7D61230F93BA15752C1A966958260 - Ernest Duncan Awards for Teaching Mathematics http://www.nzamt.org.nz/sites/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=49