V. Frederick Rickey

{{short description|American mathematician}}

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1941|12|17}}

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| nationality = American

| fields = Mathematics

| workplaces = Bowling Green State University
United States Military Academy
University of Notre Dame
Indiana University at South Bend
University of Vermont

| alma_mater = University of Notre Dame

| thesis_title = An Axiomatic Theory of Syntax

| thesis_year = 1968

| doctoral_advisor = Bolesław Sobociński

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| known_for = History of mathematics and its use in teaching mathematics

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| awards = George Pólya Award (1988)[https://www.maa.org/programs/maa-awards/writing-awards/isaac-newton-man-myth-and-mathematics "Isaac Newton: Man, Myth, and Mathematics" by V. Frederick Rickey, George Pólya Award, 1988, maa.org]

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| spouse = Joy McPherson Rickey

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Vincent Frederick Rickey (born 17 December 1941) is an American logician and historian of mathematics.{{cite book|editor=Shell-Gellasch, Amy|editor-link=Amy Shell-Gellasch|title=Hands on History: A Resource for Teaching Mathematics|page=176|year=2007|publisher=Mathematical Association of America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3SYQ-hOFzgC|isbn=9780883851821}}

Rickey received his B.S. (1963), M.S. (1966), and Ph.D. (1968) from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. His Ph.D. was entitled An Axiomatic Theory of Syntax.{{MathGenealogy|id=13349}} He joined the academic staff of Ohio's Bowling Green State University in 1968, became there a full professor in 1979,[http://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/mathematics-and-statistics/faculty-and-staff/distinguished-faculty/v-f-rickey.html V. Frederick Rickey Honored as Distinguished Teacher Professor, Bowling Green State University, 29 June 1992] and retired there in 1998. He was then a mathematics professor at the United States Military Academy from 1998 until his retirement in 2011.[http://fredrickey.info/ Fred Rickey's Home Page] He was a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame (1971–1972), Indiana University at South Bend (1977–1978), the University of Vermont (1984–1985), and the United States Military Academy (1989–1990). He was a Visiting Mathematician (1994–1995) at the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., and while on this sabbatical he was involved in the founding of the undergraduate magazine Math Horizons.

He is an expert on the logical systems of Stanisław Leśniewski{{cite journal|author=Rickey, V. F.|year=1977|title=A survey of Leśniewski's logic|journal=Studia Logica|volume=36|issue=4|pages=407–426|doi=10.1007/BF02120674|s2cid=189779907}} and has been a member of the editorial boards of the Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic and The Philosopher's Index. Rickey has broad interests in the history of mathematics with a particular interest in the historical development of calculus and the use of this history to motivate and inspire students.

He is a multiple awardee. In 1993 he received the Deborah and Franklin Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics;{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608175318/https://maa.org/member-communities/maa-awards/teaching-awards/section-award|title=Recipients of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics; Mathematical Association of America|website=www.maa.org}} he has also received the first statewide Distinguished Teaching Award from the Ohio section of the MAA, the Kappa Mu Epsilon honorary society award for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (in 1991, 1988, 1975, and 1971), and the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal from the Department of the Army in 1990 for performance while serving as the visiting professor of mathematics at the United States Military Academy.