Dr Milton (Mick) March MBE CF 1929-2020
The Trust is saddened by the news of the death of Dr Milton (Mick) March, 1969 Churchill Fellow who devoted many years to serving the Trust and the educational community of the ACT.
Mick had been teaching maths at various schools in New South Wales and Canberra, when, in 1969, he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship. At the time he was active in the Canberra Maths Association, the Teachers’ Federation and was Chair of the Education Working Group. Mick travelled to the USA, UK and Canada on his Churchill Fellowship to observe the teaching of new courses of mathematics, become acquainted with syllabus content and stress, collect data on the implementation of new mathematics courses and to observe the nature and operation of summer classes in mathematics conducted by the National Science Foundation of USA.
As an outcome of his Fellowship Mick made a major contribution to the reform and restructure of the education system for the ACT, being instrumental in the establishment of the college system for year 11 and 12 students when the ACT and NSW Teaching Services separated. The separate college system for the last two years of school was a resounding success; it achieved important social reform while maintaining academic results. Mick also initiated a Summer School for bright maths students from all over Australia and set up a Teacher Resources Centre in Canberra as a meeting place for teachers to talk about ideas and improvements. He was a Foundation member of the ACT Schools Authority and Chairman of the ACT Schools Curriculum Committee.
In 1989 Mick started an education consultancy, which included teaching at the University of Canberra and the ANU, as well as spending a year in Islamabad helping to rewrite the Physics curriculum for Pakistan schools.
Mick was a member of the ACT Regional Selection Committee for Churchill Fellowships from 1976 until 2011 and played a pivotal role in establishing the ACT Churchill Fellows’ Association, which is still playing an important role today in keeping our Fellows connected with each other and the Trust. In addition Mick was a valued mentor to countless Churchill Fellows, particularly in the field of education.
Mick’s gentle nature and support for the Trust was very much appreciated by Board members, Trust staff and Churchill Fellows. In December 2019 he was presented with the Churchill Trust Board Recognition Award, in appreciation of his significant contribution to the Trust over fifty years.