Joan Leitzel

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, G. Warren Phillips, Ruth Bickel Phillips, and Hazel Maxwell Phillips, and by her husband, James R. C. Leitzel. Joan is survived by her brother, George Philips of Flossmoor, Illinois, and sister, Nancy Darosett of Indianapolis, Indiana. Joan is also survived by her sons James (Donna) and John (Karen), granddaughters Hannah, Lillian, Elizabeth, and Sarah, and great-granddaughter Lucie. Joan’s nephews and niece, Tom & Bill Phillips and Tim, Kimberly, and Daniel Darosett were a precious part of her family as well.

Joan’s lifelong commitment to public education was expressed professionally and passionately, joining the faculty of mathematics at The Ohio State University in 1965. After spending many years as a professor of mathematics, she moved into administration as associate Provost for curriculum and instruction at Ohio State. Following two years at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., Joan moved to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where she served as Provost and interim Chancellor, before becoming the President of the University of New Hampshire from 1996-2002.

Dr. Leitzel held leadership roles in: the American Association for Higher Education (including national chair in 1997-998); the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (board of directors); the Mathematical Association of America; the American Mathematical Society; and the National Research Council at the National Academy of Sciences, where she chaired the Mathematical Sciences Education Board from 2000-2005. She was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; and Sigma Xi, the honorary science society. In 2014, Dr. Leitzel received the Gung and HU Award for distinguished Service to Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America, and in 2015 she received the Friend of Mathematics Award from the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

In recent years, Joan continued to be active on advisory boards and maintained active involvement in her church, North Broadway United Methodist Church, surprising her family by participating in dramatic productions of Arsenic and Old Lace and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She delighted in the exploits of her granddaughters and great-granddaughter, while making sure she stayed up to date on national and international news, as well as the daily weather reports.

Visitation and Memorial Service will be at North Broadway United Methodist Church (48 E N Broadway St, Columbus, OH 43214), on Friday, March 13, with visitation from 11am-1pm and the memorial service at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites those who wish to honor her memory to consider a gift to either of two programs close to Joan’s heart:

The Joan and James Leitzel Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education at the University of New Hampshire, or to Project NExT of the Mathematical Association of America, co-founded by Joan’s late husband, James Leitzel, a program dedicated to supporting the next generation of mathematics faculty.

Links for both organizations are below on this webpage.