Questions to Ask to Identify a Supportive Graduate Program as a Woman or Gender Minority in Math

By Brittany Gelb, Kathryn Beck, Joy Hamlin, Hamidreza Mahmoudian, Nkhalo Malawo, Lucy Martinez, and Rebecca Whitman Brittany Gelb When I attended open houses as a prospective graduate student, I wanted to know: is this a program where I would feel supported and be able to thrive? In order to get that information, I remember asking...

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What we Learn from Trump’s Indictment about the Mathematical Community

By Della Dumbaugh Della Dumbaugh The process that led to the recent indictment of former president Donald Trump unwittingly offers some insights on strengthening our mathematical community.  In particular, the recent New York Times article, “How the D.A. Restructured the Case Against Trump: A Revamped Team and a Victory in Court Gave New Life to...

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Students Speak: Is it our fault for not measuring up after COVID?

By Sabrina Pawlak Sabrina Pawlak While there are technical ways to approach the question of how Covid affected students via testing, performance reviews, surveys, etc., I opted for an anecdotal approach. While this may not satisfy the conditions for extrapolation, I find it relevant to share my perspective—from what I experienced to what I have...

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Framing Figures: Math and Art with Donna Molinek, Grace Fahey and Anna West

By Tim Chartier, Davidson College Tim Chartier Turkish carpet-making, Renaissance art, M.C. Escher etchings, and modern work in 3D printing are a few examples of artistic work infused with deep mathematical ideas.  Math and art is an area of scholarly work and also suitable for the classroom.  Dr. Donna Molinek, Professor of Mathematics at Davidson...

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Monuments to Algebra

By Keith Devlin @KeithDevlin@fediscience.org François Viète, b.1540 in Fontenay-le-Comte, France, d.1603, in Paris, France 2020 was the year when much of the world’s attention was focused on the progression of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19. So it’s hardly surprising that the mathematical world missed the news that a commemorative plaque had been placed on the...

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What is Quantitative Reasoning?

By: David Bressoud @dbressoud David Bressoud is DeWitt Wallace Professor Emeritus at Macalester College and former Director of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences. davidbressoud.org I was first introduced to the concept of quantitative reasoning (QR) through Lynn Steen and the 2001 book that he edited, Mathematics and Democracy: The Case for Quantitative Literacy....

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How Dare You Fall Asleep

By Lew Ludwig While I keep a relatively low-key persona in daily interactions, my Myers-Briggs is INTP. If you follow such things, you will be surprised by how outgoing I am in the classroom. I was fortunate enough to conduct my student teaching under George Schwipps, a high school math teacher described as “part game show...

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MathFest in Tampa: a Different Perspective

By Alicia Prieto-Langarica Dr. Alicia Prieto-Langarica I want to start by saying that if you are a member of a marginalized group and you feel like traveling to Florida (or any other state) will put you in harm's way, I understand your anger at the decision to host MathFest in Tampa. In no way do...

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Building Relationships with Industry for Student Groups

By Deb Carney and Rebecca Swanson Deb Carney & Rebecca Swanson Many of us in mathematics advise student groups at our institutions. The two of us founded the Society for Women in Mathematics (SWiM) at the Colorado School of Mines in 2013 with the goal of building a community of support for women and other...

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Supporting Transition to Proof Courses with Calculus Context

By Audrey Malagon Moving from the calculus sequence to abstract mathematics can be challenging for students. The ASPIRE team seeks to build on students’ previous experiences in calculus with intentionally designed, inquiry-oriented materials that support students as they transition to upper level mathematics. In this post, Dr. Tenchita Alzaga Elizondo, Research Associate at Portland State...

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