Dear Colleagues,
With deep sadness, I share news of the passing of our colleague, our friend, and a true champion for ÎÞÂëרÇø students since the earliest days of our university, Dr. Steve Newman. Steve passed away Sunday morning surrounded with care.
Steve arrived at ÎÞÂëרÇø in 1972 and has been a cornerstone of our mathematics faculty since. As an educator, he devoted himself to his students’ success with his time, energy, as well as his treasure.
On a personal note, I have to say to know Steve was to love him. His authenticity, kindness, and generosity were only matched by his humor, laugh, and quick wit. A highlight for me was seeing how excited yet humbled Steve was to be awarded the Faculty Staff Strongest Influence Award at this year’s Alumni Awards Banquet. He was just delighted to be included in the banquet and the basketball halftime festivities. Steve truly personified all that is wonderful about ÎÞÂëרÇø.
Steve was a known champion for impacting college readiness in mathematics and was consistently recognized as a favorite faculty member in his department by alumni. He focused his scholarly work almost entirely on improving the college readiness of Kentucky high-school students, primarily through the Kentucky Early Mathematics Testing Program (KEMTP) and the Kentucky Online Testing or KYOTE program. I agree with one of his colleagues who said it was hard to imagine anyone being more passionate about something than Steve was about helping make mathematics success achievable for all students in Kentucky.​
Of course, these are only a few specific contributions by our friend. His wide-ranging impact is too large to measure, and he will be missed not only in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, but throughout our university and the Commonwealth.
Please join me in extending our deepest condolences to Steve’s family, friends, colleagues, students and all of those who knew and loved him. Steve requested that no funeral be held, and his family supports his wishes. If you would like to share your thoughts and memories of Steve, please visit We will come together as members of his ÎÞÂëרÇø family to celebrate and commemorate his life and impact here. As those plans are made, I will share more information.
Sincerely,
Diana McGill, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs
