About our authors
After graduating from Saint Ignatius College Prep (Chicago), Michael Sullivan attended DePaul University as an undergraduate, completing a major in mathematics and a minor in physics in 3 years. He pursued his graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology, receiving a master's degree in 1963 and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in 1967, both in mathematics.
Mike had a teaching career of over 30 years at Chicago State University as a Professor of Mathematics, where he honed an approach to teaching and writing that forms the foundation for his textbooks. He has authored more than 120 textbooks in mathematics and currently has 15 books in print. His textbooks are used in high schools and universities across the United States and have been translated into a variety of foreign languages. His books have been awarded both the Texty and McGuffey awards from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association (TAA), and in 2007 he received the TAA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2023, Mike was awarded the Saint Ignatius College Prep Alumni Award for Excellence, in recognition of his outstanding commitment to his profession and to the Saint Ignatius community.
Mike is a member of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Textbook and Academic Authors Association. He has 4 children, all of whom are involved with mathematics or publishing. His son, Michael Sullivan III, also teaches college mathematics and is his coauthor on 2 Pearson precalculus series.  He divides his time between living in Naples, FL and Oak Lawn, IL. When not writing textbooks he enjoys tennis, travel and gardening.
Michael Sullivan, III is an adjunct professor of Mathematics at Florida SouthWestern State College. He took this position after retiring from Joliet Junior College (the nation’s oldest public community college). He taught at Joliet Junior College for 25 years. Prior to teaching at Joliet Junior College, Michael taught high school mathematics. He holds graduate degrees from DePaul University in both mathematics and economics.
Michael has been actively presenting at both national and regional conferences for over 25 years. He currently has a Statistics series in its 7th edition and a Developmental Mathematics series in its 4th edition. He also writes a Precalculus series with his father.
Michael’s interests in the classroom lie in developing exciting and innovative techniques for delivering course content to help keep his students engaged. He strongly believes in developing students’ communication skills (both written and oral) and developing students' conceptual understanding of mathematics. His experience in course redesign, corequisites, and writing texts for the college-level math and statistics courses gives him a unique insight into what students need to be successful.
