Arnold Ephraim Ross

Arnold Ross was born in Chicago August 24, 1906, spent his childhood in Odessa, Russia, returning to Chicago in 1922. With a 1931 Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago he taught at CalTech, People’s Junior College, and St. Louis University. During World War II he served as a research mathematician in the U.S. Navy. In 1946 he was appointed as the Head of the Mathematics Department at the University of Notre Dame. Professor Ross left Notre Dame in 1963 to become the chairman of the Department of Mathematics at the Ohio State University, retiring in 1976.

Perhaps the most notable lifetime achievement of Arnold Ross was the summer program he started at Notre Dame for high school students talented in mathematics. Professor Ross divined the need for encouraging such students even earlier than the Sputnik era. In the summer program, Professor Ross developed innovative methods to impart creativity and problem-solving skills in a manner benefiting the students throughout their lives. The Ross Program moved to Ohio State in 1964 and continues to thrive there. Ross directed and taught in that program every summer until poor health forced him to retire in 2000 at age 94. In the 1970s he carried this program to Australia, India, and West Germany, where local efforts flourished for several years. Alumni of this highly successful Ross Program at Ohio State have created similar programs at other universities in the United States and Canada.

Professor Ross also initiated innovative outreach programs (New Horizons and Horizons Unlimited) in the 1960s for inner city school children in Columbus, and served on several national committees concerned with mathematics education. He received many academic honors including national awards for teaching and service in mathematics: the OSU Distinguished Teaching Award (1974) and Distinguished Service Award (1981), the Mathematics Association of America Award for Distinguished Service (1986), the American Mathematical Society Citation for Public Service (1998). The American Math Society established the “Arnold Ross Lecture Series” in his honor (1993). Professor Ross also received an honorary Doctoral Degree from Denison University (1984).

Arnold Ross married Bertha (Bee) Horecker in 1931. Although they had no children, they had a long and happy marriage until her death in 1983. Professor Ross was fortunate to find love again. In 1990, he married Madeleine Green, who remained with him in a close, loving relationship for the rest of his life.

In lieu of flowers please send a donation to the Ross Mathematics Program, Department of Mathematics, the Ohio State University.

I had the honor a year ago of attending a reunion celebrating Dr. Ross's 95th birthday and the program's 45th anniversery. Hundreds of people came from accross the country to see him one more time and to let him know how important he was in their lives. I watched 5 decades of his students stand up and tell him what he'd done in their lives. There were half a dozen of his students who had gone out and started their own programs to give back to others what Ross had given to them. Its hard for me to imagine what he saw in his 96 years, but I know his was a great life, and I know that if I had 300 years I still wouldn't leave the mark on the world that Dr. Ross left.