Her dissertation, Coincidence Theorems for Set Valued Mappings, was supervised by James Dugundji.
[2] Dewar is the co-author with Dennis G. Zill of a series of mathematics textbooks on algebra, trigonometry, precalculus, and calculus.
With C. Bennett and M. Fisher, she is also the author of The scholarship of teaching and learning: A guide for scientists, engineers, and mathematicians (Oxford University Press, 2018).
The award citation credited her for shaping several mathematics degree programs at Loyola Marymount, for her in-service work with school teachers, for her work running mathematics conferences for secondary school girls, and for "her passionate devotion to the art of teaching".
This award "recognizes individuals for helping to promote and support women in mathematics through exceptional volunteer service to the AWM.