90 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine EDUCATION Born inMinnesota to parents Tina Otelia and Inge Martin, Dr. Robert M. Fossum became interested in education from an early age. His mother taught mathematics to junior high school students, while his father managed a bookstore at St. Olaf College, where his uncle also taught physics. In light of his connections to the college, and drawing upon his excellence in high school, Dr. Fossum was encouraged to attend St. Olaf College as an undergraduate student. He graduated with a BA in 1959, during which time he served on the Minnesota Farmer Labor Young People’s Board. Following his college graduation, Dr. Fossum received an MA and a PhD from the University of Michigan in 1961 and 1965, respectively. While studying toward his doctoral degree, Dr. Fossum began his professional career as an educator at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign, serving as an instructor of mathematics from 1964 to 1966. Promoted thereafter to the rank of assistant professor in 1966 and associate professor in 1968, he then served as a full professor from 1972 until his retirement from education in 2008. Upon his retirement, he was honored as professor emeritus. During his tenure with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Fossum also served as a professor at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology between 2000 and 2008. Post-retirement, he spent five years as the president of Tronderlag of America, an organization comprised of descendants of emigrants from the Trøndelag region of Norway. Dr. Fossum has accrued a myriad of accolades throughout his career, including a 2010 Alumni Achievement Award from St. Olaf College and a 1994 “Best Mathematics” award from the Minnesota State Fair. He is recognized as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. Outside of his primary efforts, Dr. Fossum served as a visiting professor at the University of Oslo in Norway and Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris. He also lectured at Aarhus University and Copenhagen University in Denmark. Millennium Magazine Featured Listee ROBERT M. FOSSUM, PHD PROFESSOR EMERITUS University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chetek, WI
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