Iowa Section MAA -- Governor's Report

Here is a brief summary of some items of interest from the January Board of Governor's meeting:

The MAA Board of Governors met Tuesday, January 9, in New Orleans.
The following items are of interest to the Iowa Section.

1.  This year's MathFest is in Madison Wisconsin.  This is the closest the MathFest has been in years.  It would be great to see a good Iowa     Section turn out there.  The 2002 MathFest will be in Burlington, Vt.

2. The MAA receives external grants to fund a number of important activities that are of interest to mathematicians.  These include support for student chapters, Project NExt, enhancement of the effectiveness post-secondary faculty, the MAA contests, etc.  See the MAA website for a far more extensive list of such activities and think about becoming involved in some of these activities.

3.  The Akaima Corporation has contributed a large sum to recognize students who do well on the United States Mathematical Olympiad.  A $1000.00 scholarship will be awarded to the top male and female participants in each state.

4.  Tom Rishel has published a very nice handbook for teaching assistants, but it also contains many ideas that can be helpful for new faculty.  The handbook is online at the MAA website.

5.  As usual, membership levels are a big concern.  It is very important that the MAA and its members recruit new members from among new PhD's and faculty.  Let you new PhD's and faculty know that there is a reduced membership rate for new PhDs.
 

Respectfully Submitted

Elgin Johnston