MAV Life Member, MERGA Honorary Life Member, mentor, colleague, and friend
The Mathematical Association of Victoria mourns the passing and celebrates the life of Professor Ken Clements, an inspirational educator, scholar, mentor and MAV Life Member whose influence on mathematics education in Australia and beyond will endure for generations. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Ken was an Honorary Life Member of both MAV and the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA).
There will be two memorial services held in honour of Ken:
Toowoomba Service
A memorial service will take place in Toowoomba on Saturday, 7 March at 10:30am (Queensland time). This service will be live-streamed. Burstows Funerals in Toowoomba has provided the streaming link on Ken’s page. To locate it, visit the Burstows website, search for McKenzie Clements under “In Our Care,” and his page will appear. Those who wish to do so are warmly invited to leave a message under the “Condolences” section.
The direct link to the service is here.
Melbourne Service
A second memorial service will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday, 31 March at 11:00am at Paisley Street Baptist Church, now known as Footscray Baptist Church. This church played a significant role in Ken’s early life, and it remained an important place for him and his family.
Ken’s journey in education speaks to talent nurtured by care and opportunity. As a student at University High School, he once considered leaving at the end of Year 10; no one in his family had studied beyond that point. His mathematics teacher, Eric McLean (later an MAV Treasurer), visited Ken’s parents in Footscray to encourage them to keep him at school. The family did not have a phone at the time; a neighbour’s number was listed for contact. That act of belief and advocacy helped change the course of Ken’s life, and, in turn, the lives of thousands of students and teachers he later influenced.
In 1960, Ken began at The University of Melbourne on a Victorian Education Department teaching studentship, studying Pure Mathematics and History. He later undertook a PhD in Education with Dr Edgar French, bringing the historian’s care for context together with a mathematician’s clarity and precision.
Ken began his career teaching in a remote country school, as many studentship holders did. After fulfilling his service, he accepted a post at Yarra Valley Grammar, where he brought leading thinkers such as Zoltan P. Dienes to work with teachers and students. Around this time, he joined MAV Council, marking the beginning of a lifelong contribution to the Association and the profession. It was only a matter of time before he was appointed to Monash University in Mathematics and Special Education, where he became a touchstone for thoughtful, research011informed practice.
Read more about how he influenced students:
https://www.yvg.vic.edu.au/inspired-by-yarra/ross-emslie
https://gwern.net/doc/iq/high/smpy/1984-clements.pdf
After Monash, Ken taught at Prince Alfred College while preparing for Christian missionary service in India. He then moved to Deakin University and worked as a consultant for the Catholic Education Office (Melbourne), Brunei University, and the University of Newcastle. A fond memory from 1982: during occasional drop011ins to the Clarkes’ home in The Basin, he delighted in “teaching” their two011year011old daughter Belinda to answer “two” whenever asked, “What’s the cube root of eight?”
On a personal note, Ken greatly influenced the Clarke family. During Doug Clarke’s DipEd year, Ken’s pointed question, “When are you starting your master’s?”, prompted Doug to begin in his second year of teaching. Ken later employed Barb, Doug, and David Clarke as tutors in mathematics education at Monash, at one point all at once, making for exciting, formative years.
From 2005 to 2017, Ken served in the Department of Mathematics at Illinois State University (ISU). There, together with his wife and long011time collaborator Professor Nerida Ellerton, he deepened a shared passion for the history of mathematics, especially the history of school mathematics. Ken and Nerida spent countless hours in archives across the United States and England, including Harvard University, Cambridge University, the British Library, and the Library of Congress, locating and analysing original documents. In his lectures and writing, He was active at the Mathematics Education Centre (MEC) at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech) during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ken loved to share vivid stories of “meeting” Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, and Nathaniel Bowditch through their manuscripts, always drawing out clear implications for the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools.
Some forty years ago, he played a formative role in the creation of MERGA, helping to shape a professional community that continues to bring together researchers and practitioners across our region. In 1976, inspired by the recent formation of ASERA, John Foyster (then at ACER) approached Ken Clements at Monash about creating a national community for mathematics education research. Notices went out late in 1976 (often simply to “Mathematics Lecturers at…”), and the inaugural national conference was held at Monash in May 1977, drawing about 100 participants, setting the pattern of rigorous, annual gatherings. A post-conference meeting affirmed MERGA’s formation, slated the 1978 meeting at Macquarie University, and set in train a highly valued organsiation 50 years on.
Read on more information about the beginnings of MERGA: https://merga.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Clements-Foyster.pdf
Over his career, Ken taught in numerous Victorian schools, served as a consultant and researcher across Australia and internationally, and authored and published extensively, work that is recognised and respected around the world. Many Australians are grateful for his wise counsel at pivotal moments in their careers.
Colleagues remember Ken as a generous mentor, a rigorous thinker, and a gifted communicator who never lost sight of the learner. As Professor Diane Siemon reflected:
“I was fortunate to meet him at Monash in 1973, and our shared love of mathematics, cricket, and history meant we always had something to have a chat about. He was a caring and insightful mentor and a passionate, gifted educator. Ken touched so many of us—he was truly inspirational. He will always be in my heart as a very special person.”
Ken remained proudly connected to his roots, a Footscray boy and lifelong Western Bulldogs supporter, carrying that sense of community into every professional role. Within MAV, he was a steady hand and a generous presence: a Life Member, a Council colleague, and a tireless advocate for better mathematics teaching and learning.
To Nerida and Ken’s family, we extend our deepest sympathies. MAV will pay formal tribute to a wonderful leader in mathematics education in Australia and beyond, and we will share details with members so the community can honour his memory together.
Vale, Professor Ken Clements. Your wisdom, kindness, and example will continue to guide us.
Thank you to the various MAV Members and Life Members who contributed to this.
