The award is named in honor of American statistician Robert V. Hogg, who died in 2014, and is presented in recognition of an individual who has been teaching introductory statistics at the college level for between three and 15 years and who has shown both excellence and growth in teaching during that time.

Roth was nominated for this award by several of her students and colleagues including Carolyn Cuff, professor of mathematics at Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa.

“Although she had stated in her Wheeling Jesuit (University) interview that she was not willing to teach statistics, she did attend the Project NExT workshop on teaching introductory statistics during MathFest in 2003,” Cuff wrote in her nomination letter. “And a spark was lit.”

As an undergraduate, Roth earned her bachelor’s degree with a major in mathematics and a minor in computer science from Oberlin College in 1996. She completed her Ph.D. in mathematics from Penn State University in 2002.

Cuff added that Roth had expressed her willingness to learn statistics and how to teach the subject early on.

“When she moved to Juniata, she was replacing an applied mathematician who, among other courses, taught statistics,” says Cuff. “Kim worked hard to fill her statistical knowledge gaps.”

Roth began teaching at Juniata in 2006 and began pursuit of a master’s degree in applied statistics at Pennsylvania State University in 2008–all while teaching a full course load. She earned that degree in 2016, the same year she attained the rank of professor at the College.

Roth’s teaching philosophy centers on her commitment to partnering with her students and continuing to expand her instruction methods.

“Teaching remains a reflective process for me. I will continue to evolve to meet the needs of my students and to increase what the students learn about statistics in my courses,” Roth writes. “The statistics education community has been helpful in this process and I continue to gain ideas from it and share what works for me to it.”

While teaching at the College, Roth has developed several courses in statistics, mathematics and data science, and she has participated in and designed several research projects focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning. She was also instrumental in the development of the data science secondary emphasis and is currently in the process of developing a data science program of emphasis.

Roth is a member of the Association for Women in Mathematics, National Association of Mathematicians, and Pi Mu Epsilon, a math honor society.