Braddy Brings Experience and Love of MAA to New Position in Washington
| Laura McHugh |
This article is published in the August/September 2012 issue of MAA FOCUS.
Braddy at the 2012 R.L. Moore
Conference in Austin.
Linda Braddy will join the MAA as deputy executive director starting September 1, 2012.
The deputy executive director will provide administrative oversight of MAA’s diverse portfolio of externally funded projects, such as the federally funded Professional Enhancement Program (PREP) and the Tensor Foundation-funded grants for Women and Mathematics. The deputy ED will also provide similar oversight for a range of MAA programs—including MAA’s professional development program, Project NExT, and MAA American Mathematics Competitions—as well as supervise the Programs, Services, and Meetings Departments at MAA Headquarters in Washington.
Braddy brings a wide range of experience to this new position, having served as a professor, department chair, and dean during her career. She also has extensive experience in fundraising and collaborating with state agencies, national organizations, and the federal government.
Initially attracted to the competitive atmosphere of her math classes in middle school, Braddy went on to pursue her bachelor of science degree in mathematics at East Central University and completed her master’s degree and Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma. It was during her time at the University of Oklahoma that she was introduced to the MAA through the gift of a student membership from the Mathematics Department.
“The faculty members took us with them to the Oklahoma-Arkansas section meeting every spring,” she said, adding that she continues to enjoy attending section and national meetings. “Attending professional conferences is a key component in the lifelong learning process, and I appreciate the willingness of others in the profession to share their wisdom and experiences with me,” she said.
Her dissertation was titled “Constructing Graphs to Meet Specified Conditions: A Generalizability Study.” Curtis Claude McKnight served as her adviser.
“My dissertation adviser insisted that each of his graduate students make a presentation at a national conference before he or she completed the Ph.D.,” Braddy said, “and my first occurred at the 1996 MAA MathFest in Atlanta, Georgia.”
Braddy was accepted into MAA’s Project NExT in 2001. She credits the experience as having a profound influence on her career. “I’ve encouraged every new faculty member I have either hired or mentored to apply to the Project NExT program because I understand firsthand what a huge impact it can have on the course of a young mathematician’s career.”
She returned to East Central University as an assistant professor of mathematics in 1998, becoming a full professor in 2006 and serving as chair of the department from 2005 to 2009. She received the Award for Distinguished University Teaching of Mathematics from the Oklahoma-Arkansas MAA Section in 2006.
Most recently, she served as the dean of mathematics and natural sciences at Tarrant County College. She’s excited to be starting as MAA deputy executive director and to work closely with the mathematics community and MAA members.
She is the coauthor of Removing Remediation Requirements: Effectiveness of Intervention Programs. PRIMUS: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies with A. Fine and M. Duggan (Taylor and Francis, 2009).
An avid runner and hiker, she has completed several half-marathons and hiked the Grand Canyon three times.
Braddy is the mother of four and has three grandchildren. She will move to the Washington, D.C., area for this position. Her husband, Tommy, will follow after his retirement. Their daughter Vanessa is nearby serving in the U.S. military.