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Mathematics
- Edited by Marla Parker, SunSoft
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- Book:
- She Does Math!
- Published by:
- Mathematical Association of America
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 01 June 1995, pp 87-91
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- Chapter
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Summary
My Nutley High School yearbook caption says that I “would like to teach college math,” probably because I had taken five year-long mathematics courses, plus the usual college prep curriculum. But why did I choose—and remain with—math? No doubt for a variety of reasons: the influence of my father's engineering background; my mother's competence in basic consumer mathematics; the American commitment to mathematics and science in the aftermath of the Soviet Union launching the spacecraft, Sputnik; and the fact that I liked mathematics—and find it a continuing challenge.
I fulfilled my career goal by entering Douglass College, the women's college of Rutgers University in New Jersey, majoring in mathematics with a minor in French. Then, I went directly into Rutgers' graduate school under a fellowship, and completed my PhD in mathematics six years later. As a full-time faculty member for three of those six years, I had to make every minute count to meet all the responsibilities of both a teacher and a student. I put many miles (and even more kilometers!) on my car, consulting with my dissertation advisor who was taking a year's sabbatical in a distant city.
Fortunately, I have always been a well-organized person so I was able to juggle both roles, but it did mean sacrificing a good deal of personal time.
My field of research is in real analysis and special function theory, part of pure mathematics. Currently, my research interests focus on improving the teaching and learning of mathematics; engaging those who are under-represented in mathematics; curing math avoidance and anxiety; and strategic planning in higher education.
Reflections on WAM
- Edited by Marla Parker, SunSoft
-
- Book:
- She Does Math!
- Published by:
- Mathematical Association of America
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 01 June 1995, pp 161-164
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
In 1975, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) asked me to develop a lectureship program that would encourage young women to study mathematics.The problem, a disproportionately small number of women entering the mathematical sciences and other mathematics-dependent careers, had been identified in the early 1970's. A contributing factor was the fact that American young women tend to avoid taking high school mathematics after tenth grade, but young men normally study four years of high school mathematics.
At the time I was asked to direct the program, I was also coordinating the Speakers Bureau of the Saint Peter's College Mathematics Department. This bureau sent department members to make presentations on mathematical topics in New York and New Jersey metropolitan-area secondary schools to stimulate student interest in mathematics. Through the Speakers Bureau, I stressed that mathematics is the “critical filter” in career access, as sociologist Dr. Lucy Sells pointed out. To be prepared for college-level calculus and qualify for majors that lead to careers in the sciences, medicine, engineering, and other technical fields, young women should study at least four years of high school mathematics.
Saint Peter's is a Jesuit college founded in 1872. As the first woman to join the Mathematics Department, I was sensitive to the special needs of women students, who were admitted to the College beginning in 1967. During the 1970's, women accounted for close to half of the College's mathematics majors.