Deaths: Daniel Miltner

Daniel Miltner. Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services

Daniel Miltner, math education

Daniel S. Miltner, 46, assistant director of the Office of Mathematics Education, died unexpectedly March 25.

“Dan was an exceptional teacher, relentlessly trying to provide the best learning opportunities possible for his students,” said Alison Castro Superfine, director of the program in the department of math, statistics and computer science.

Miltner was involved with math instruction at every level, from elementary to doctoral. He taught high school in Silver Spring, Md., for five years before joining UIC in 1996.

He worked on a grant that took him into the Chicago Public Schools, helping teachers work with reform-based math curricula that encourages students to reason mathematically and connect ideas to what they already know.

Miltner was selected for his second Silver Circle Award this year, a teaching honor chosen by graduating seniors. He received a teaching award from the Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2007.

“He was the heart of the mathematics education group in the math department, and an irreplaceable friend and colleague,” said Superfine. “His loss will be felt at UIC for a very long time.”

Miltner was the math department’s peer tutor coordinator and a member of the mathematics education committee. He served on the UIC Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Teaching Performance Assessment Project. He served on the Chicago STEM Education Consortium, the Chicago Public Schools Algebra Initiative and the Chicago Community College Reinvention Taskforce.

He earned a B.S. in mathematics at the University of Iowa and a master’s and Ph.D. in math education at UIC.