The ongoing generosity of Subhash Saxena, Ph.D., distinguished professor emeritus at Coastal Carolina University, continues to impact the University. In recognition of his most recent major endowed gift, the Gupta College of Science mathematics department in the R. Cathcart Smith Science Center was officially named the Subhash Saxena Department of Mathematics and Statistics during a dedication ceremony on April 19. The endowed fund supports faculty members and undergraduate students who conduct mathematics or statistics research.

“We are extremely grateful for Dr. Subhash Saxena’s unwavering commitment to Coastal Carolina University and our students,” said CCU President Michael T. Benson, D.Phil. “His unending generosity speaks volumes about his love for the University and his desire to see it continue to flourish. He had a profound impact on countless students during his storied teaching career, and we are privileged to recognize his nearly 50-year association with the institution by naming the mathematics and statistics department in his honor.”

Saxena, who began teaching at Coastal in 1973, was a mainstay of the mathematics department for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2000. He served as department chair from 1987-1993. In 1985, Saxena earned the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award and was then named Outstanding Teacher within the University of South Carolina system. He is also credited with establishing a Pi Mu Epsilon national mathematics honor society chapter on campus. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, the University named him distinguished professor emeritus of mathematics in 2000.

“With mathematics being the foundation of all the sciences, Dr. Saxena’s decades of service to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics has formed the basis of the success of the Gupta College of Science,” said Michael Roberts, Ph.D., dean of the Gupta College of Science. “With his efforts and leadership to establish this foundation, the department, college, and University have thrived.”

In April 2018, in recognition of a previous endowed gift from Saxena, the mathematics faculty office suite and teaching space on the second floor of the renovated R. Cathcart Smith Science Center was named the Dr. Subhash Saxena Math Suite. Saxena, along with his wife, Pushpa, also financially supports the University and its students through the Dr. Subhash Saxena Math Research Endowment, the Dr. Subhash Saxena Math Contest and Lecture Series Endowed Program Fund, and the Subhash Saxena Scholarship.

“I am very humbled by this honor that has been given to me,” said Saxena.

Saxena left his native India in late 1959 after earning a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D., all in mathematics, from the University of Delhi.

“We are very excited to honor Dr. Saxena, who is loved by so many from the CCU family,” said Diane Sanders, CCU’s vice president for advancement and alumni engagement. “It is extremely fitting that we recognize his ongoing generosity by naming the Subhash Saxena Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University. Through this well-deserved recognition, Dr. Saxena will be forever associated with the department he helped to firmly establish and develop through the years.”