Robert C. Eslinger came to the Department of Mathematics at Hendrix College in 1976. Bob received a B.S. in mathematics from Stetson University in 1966 and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Emory University in 1971. When he retired from Hendrix he held the Elbert L. Fausett Distinguished Professorship of Mathematics and while at Hendrix Bob served terms as Department Chair, Natural Sciences Area Chair, Associate Provost and Interim Provost and Dean of the College.

One of Bob's unusual teaching accomplishments is the development of the computer science program at Hendrix College. In the mid-eighties Bob spent two summers in a faculty development program at Clarkson University for training mathematicians to teach computer science. After completion of the program Bob developed a set of computer science courses that were collectively equivalent to a mathematics-based computer science minor. Bob continued to teach those courses for a decade until Hendrix hired its first computer scientist in 1995.

On the mathematics side Bob devoted more than ten years to the development and teaching of reform calculus and was a strong advocate of the Moore method in teaching students the mechanics of proving theorems. In 1978 Bob initiated the Hendrix-Rhodes-Sewanee Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium at which students from the three schools present results of their undergraduate research projects. Bob has himself directed over thirty undergraduate research projects in mathematics and computer science.

Bob served as national President of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national honoray mathematics society and as Governor of the Oklahoma-Arkansas Section of the MAA. In 2004 he won the MAA OA teaching award.

Each year the Robert C. Eslinger Computer Science Award is presented to a senior computer science student with high achievement in upper-level computer science courses and with active participation in department activities.

Recipients