A well-deserved thank you to Dick Davitt and the faculty of the University of Louisville for hosting an excellent meeting last March. They were gracious to our invited speakers and to us. It was especially nice to see the large number of students in attendance at the meeting.

It has been said that a teacher affects eternity and can never tell where his or her influence stops. On a more local level, each of us as teachers gains satisfaction from those moments when one of our students overcomes an obstacle to understanding and arrives at that point where they proclaim, "Aha, now I see the solution."

Besides a teacher’s individual successes with students, being honored by peers must rank high in one’s professional career. With this in mind, we call for nominations for the Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching. If you know of someone who is a truly dedicated and outstanding teacher, you should nominate that person for the award. The nomination form and guidelines appears in this newsletter. The deadline for nomination is November 15, and the deadline for submission of all materials is December 15.

At the next annual meeting, we will hold elections for two officers: Secretary/Treasurer (3 years), and Newsletter Editor (3 years). Please let one the section officers know if you would like to suggest someone for either of these positions.

Welcome to Don Bennett of Murray State University as our new Governor. We look forward to his leadership as he represents the Kentucky Section at the national level of the MAA.

Our last Spring meeting of the millennium will be held March 31 – April 1, 2000 at Eastern Kentucky University. A web page is being developed at www.kymaa.eku.edu and information about the meeting will be posted there. Dave Shannon, our new chair-elect, from Transylvania University has more on the meeting elsewhere in this issue.

Have a great year, and I look forward to seeing you at the statue of Daniel Boone on Eastern’s campus in March.

Our spring meeting is shaping up to be an exciting one. Please consider giving a talk and urge students to participate (either as speakers or attendees). The featured speaker Saturday morning will be Professor Harriet Pollatsek from Mount Holyoke College. Dr. Pollatsek has a reputation as an outstanding teacher and speaker. Her research interests are in group theory and coding theory, including the new field of quantum coding. She has also been involved in several innovative undergraduate mathematics programs at Mount Holyoke and is profiled in the recently published book, Notable Women in Mathematics. The Friday evening speaker is pending.

The short course on Friday afternoon will be conducted by Professor Paul Eakin and several of his colleagues from the University of Kentucky. For the past two years they have been experimenting with some fundamental ways to use technology to change (and hopefully enhance) the classroom experience – both for lower-level and upper-level math courses. The presentations will naturally lead to discussion of issues such as "virtual learning environments" and "distance learning," and the presenters will share both their successes and their failures.

The KYMAA Section Newsletter is now available via email. If you would prefer to receive your newsletter this way should send email to William Harris, the KYMAA Newsletter Editor (wharris@georgetowncollege.edu). Please follow these guidelines:

1. Your message should be entitled, "Electronic Newsletter."

2. You should include the email address at which you wish to receive the newsletter in the body of your message.

3. You need to indicate the format you wish to receive. Current options are plain text or Microsoft Word attachment.

If you choose to receive the electronic version of the newsletter, you will no longer receive the "hard" version through regular mail.

Since the election of the Governor was after the Spring meeting in Louisville, let me take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative on the Association’s Board of Governors. It is an honor and, as I found out at the Summer meeting, a learning experience.

The 1999 Summer Mathfest was held in Providence with approximately 1000 participants registered. The Board of Governors met all day prior to the beginning of Mathfest. Following are the major items that were considered.

For the first time in many years, the Association’s General Fund had a positive balance in 1998. However, in order to achieve this, there were cutbacks in staff and in service. The major problem for now and the future is that membership is declining (which is the case for most professional academic organizations), while the operation of the MAA is very dependent on membership dues.

The formation within the MAA of Special Interest Groups, which would address special needs, is being considered. Also, the possibility of launching a general interest magazine that would appeal to all constituencies is being studied. A broader, more explicit Mission Statement was presented by a committee but didn’t receive approval. The committee will take the Board’s suggestions into consideration and will present a revised statement at the meeting in January.

After fourteen years of dedicated service, Marcia Sward has given advance notice of her resignation as Executive Director and her replacement has been chosen. Dr. Tina Straley was recommended by the Search Committee and approved by the Board of Governors. She will work with Marcia this year to make the transition a smooth period. The Association is fortunate to find such an outstanding candidate to take on the many duties of the Executive Director.

The Project NExT Program continues to grow in spirit and in size. There are seventy-one new Fellows for 1999-2000, including two in the KY Section. Congratulations to Kathy Lewis (Morehead St.) and Daylene Zielinski (Bellarmine).

The MAA Department Liaison program provides a communication link between the National Office and the colleges and universities. If your department has not appointed a liaison person please do so and notify me. I encourage you to visit the MAA website at www.maa.org. The website provides a vast amount of information, interesting articles, and announcements of great books being published by the Association, including the book, A Course in Mathematical Modeling, by our own Douglas Mooney and Randall Swift.

Finally, please remember that the MAA is a valuable organization for collegiate mathematics and it needs our support. Encourage your colleagues to become members. Please contact me if you desire further information and/or want me to bring anything to the attention of the Association.

wfenton@bellarmine.edu]

Campbellsville University – Frank Cheatham is now Vice-President of Academic Affairs. Janet L. Miller completed her Ed.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Kentucky in May, 1999. [Reported by Janet L. Miller—jlmiller@campbellsvil.edu]

Centre College – Joining the faculty this year is Alex McAllister–Assistant Professor–Ph.D., Notre Dame. For the last two years, he has been a visiting assistant professor at Dartmouth. Also, Shannon Schumann—Ph.D., University of Wyoming—is teaching full time during the

1999 calendar year and will be teaching part time during the Spring 2000 term. She has taught at Eastern Oregon University and at University of Kentucky.

David Binger has been granted tenure and promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor of Computer Science. Dorothy Nelms retired at the end of 1998 but is back to teach one course this fall. Dorothy has been a part of the Centre math program since 1969. Bill Johnston is leading the Centre program in London this fall. He will be rejoining us in the spring.

New officers for the Student Chapter of the MAA are Brandon McKenzie—President, Heidi Privett—Vice President, Stephanie Yates—Treasurer, Kara Jones—Secretary, and Kelenda Allen—Webpage Designer. [Reported by John Wilson--wilson@centre.edu]

Lisa Kay, previously a Visiting Instructor, is now an Assistant Professor. She received her Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Kentucky. Tom Kay is the new Computer Lab

Manager. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Kentucky.

Effective July 1, 2000, our department will split into two--the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Computer Science.

Many other changes have occurred recently. Mary Fleming, former chair of the department, is now working for the American Statistical Society in Washington, D.C. She has been

awarded Professor Emeritus status at EKU. Don Greenwell served as Acting Chair for Fall 1998. Since then, Jaleh Rezaie has been serving in this capacity for the department.

We were saddened by the loss of Paul Schnare, who died in a car accident on February 12, 1999. He had served the department since 1980.

Several members of our department have received honors. Don Ryoti and Don Greenwell were selected as Foundation Professors at Eastern Kentucky University. The Kentucky section of the MAA selected Paul Bland to receive the Teacher of the Year award in 1999. David Ng received the Research award from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. Chongkye Rhee was promoted from Associate Professor to Professor and Ken Nelson was promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. All of these people deserve hearty congratulations.

Jerry LeVan has been reassigned to work full-time on Banner, the new administrative software at EKU. Bill Janeway has also been assigned to work on Banner for part of his workload. Amy King, Bennie Lane, and Josephine Lane retired after many years of service. We wish them well as they travel and pursue other hobbies.

Amy King endowed the department with the Amy King MathExcel Climbers Calculus Award. This will be used to support the MathExcel Program at Eastern Kentucky University. [Reported by Margaret Yoder—yoder@acs.eku.edu]

Georgetown College – Chris Leverenz has received an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Kentucky. She is also the new chair of the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science. [Reported by Ann Heard--aheard@georgetowncollege.edu]

Midway College – Joining the faculty is Ruben D. Schwieger—Professor—Ph.D., Purdue University. His is a joint position in mathematics and education. His areas of interest are mathematics education and algebra. Melissa Q. Pittard received her Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Kentucky in May, 1999. [Reported by Martha L. Harris--mharris@midway.edu]

Morehead State University –Joining the faculty are Gerd H. Fricke—Associate Professor—Ph.D., Kent State University, and Kathryn M. Lewis—Assistant Professor—M.S., Purdue University. Ms. Lewis is a NexT fellow for 1999-2000.

Joyce H. Saxon has been promoted to Associate Professor. Robert Hebble is now an Assistant Professor. Lloyd Jaisingh was on sabbatical leave during the Spring 1999 semester. [Reported by Gordon Nolen—g.nolen@morehead-st.edu]

Murray State University – Joining the faculty is Scott Lewis—Assistant Professor—Ph.D., University of Rhode Island. His field of research is combinatorics. Additionally, Moshen Taghavi is a Visiting Assistant Professor this year. He has a Ph.D. from Kansas State University, and is on sabbatical leave from Shiraz University in Iran. His area of interest is harmonic analysis.

Rob Donnelly has been awarded a Murray State University Presidential Research Fellowship.

Renee Fister received an AAUW research grant. Maeve McCarthy received an AWM mentoring travel grant. [Reported by Bob Pervine--bpervine@math.mursuky.edu]

Northern Kentucky University – Dan Curtin has been named Interim Chair of Mathematics and Computer Science. Gail Wells, formerly the chair, is now Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

James E. Sehnert died on September 29, after falling ill this past summer. Upon completing his Ph.D. at the Ohio State University in 1971, he joined the faculty at NKU and served the University in his own unique style until his death.

The department is sponsoring a colloquium series this Fall. Speakers will include Aparna Higgins (Univ. of Dayton), Mic Jackson (Earlham College) and Joy Lind (Earlham College).

A new M.S degree program in Computer Science was approved by the Kentucky Council of Postsecondary Education this past summer. Course offerings will begin in Spring 2000.

The new Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics (CINSAM) has been launched. This is an interdisciplinary center that will strengthen partnerships between schools and industry, and will feature collaboration across education, the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science. [Reported by Lisa Elderbrock--elderbrockl@nku.edu]

Somerset Community College – Eric Deaton, M.A., Eastern Kentucky University, is a temporary full-time instructor at the Laurel County Center. [Reported by Roger Angevine—roger.angevine@kctcs.net]

Daniel Biles, Nezam Iraniparast, and David Neal have been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor. Lyn Miller has been promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor.

Tom Richmond is on sabbatical leave for the 1999-2000 academic year and is visiting Darmstadt Technical University in Germany. Bettina Richmond is on a leave of absence for the 1999-2000 academic year and is accompanying Tom. Wanda Weidemann will be on sabbatical leave during the spring semester of 2000.

Beginning Optional Retirement this year are Mary Barr Humphrey (after 20 years of full-time service), Rebecca Stamper (26 years), Kyle Wallace (29 years), Stephen Jacobs (35 years), and Joseph Stokes (37 years at WKU and 41 consecutive years of full-time teaching).

Robin Ayers received this year's Award for Teaching in WKU's Ogden College of Science, Technology, and Health.

The Nineteenth Annual WKU Mathematics Symposium will be held on Friday and Saturday, December 3 and 4. The theme is "Modern Mathematics That Majors Might Miss." We are delighted to have two nationally recognized featured speakers. Dr. Joseph Gallian, of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, will deliver two talks, "Breaking Drivers' License Codes," and "The Mathematics of Identification Numbers." Dr. DeWitt Sumners, of Florida State University, who recently delivered the 3rd annual Congressional Lecture in Washington on behalf of the American Mathematical Society, will speak on "Calculating the Secrets of Life: Mathematics in Medicine." All talks will be at a level accessible to a broad range of backgrounds and interests. [Reported by Mark Robinson—mark.robinson@wku.edu]

Anyone is entitled to make a nomination, but nominations from chairs or MAA representatives in departments of mathematical sciences are especially solicited. For this reason, this call for nominations is sent to both department chairs and MAA representatives so that the responsibility for nominations can be shared between them.

We urge you to submit a nomination if you have someone eligible and qualified in your department. Even if not selected this year, it is an honor for someone to have been nominated. Your department will receive recognition for its commitment to excellence in teaching, and the work done in preparing a nomination folder for your candidate is not wasted, since your candidate can be nominated again in a future year. Self-nomination is not permitted.

In addition to discussing this memo with your colleagues, preferably at a department meeting, please post it in a prominent place in your department.

-- College or university teachers assigned at least halftime during the academic year to teaching a mathematical science in a public or private college or university (from two-year college teaching through teaching at the Ph.D. level) in the United States or Canada. Those on approved leave (sabbatical or other) during the academic year in which they are nominated qualify if they fulfilled the requirements in the previous year.

-- At least five years of teaching experience in a mathematical science.

-- Membership in the Mathematical Association of America.

The nominees should:

-- be widely recognized as extraordinarily successful in their teaching*;

-- have teaching effectiveness that can be documented;

-- have had influence in their teaching beyond their own institutions**;

-- foster curiosity and generate excitement about mathematics in their students.

* "teaching" is to be interpreted in its broadest sense, not necessarily limited to classroom teaching (it may include activities such as preparing students for mathematical competitions at the college level--for example, the Putnam Prize Competition or the Mathematical Contest in Modeling--or attracting students to become majors in a mathematical science or to become Ph.D. candidates).

** "influence beyond their own institutions" can take many forms, including: demonstrated lasting impact on alumni; influence on the profession through curricular revisions in college mathematics teaching with national impact; influential, innovative books on the teaching of college mathematics; etc.

Nominations must be submitted on the Nomination Form attached. Please follow the instructions on that form precisely to assure uniformity in the selection process both at the Section and National level. If the Nomination Form is received by the Section Secretary by November 15, 1999, the Secretary will ask the nominee's Department Chair (whose name must also be submitted) to work with the nominator in supplying the additional required materials. Ultimately, a complete nomination must also include Evidence of Success in Teaching as described on the back of the nomination form. The final deadline for receipt of all materials is December 15, 1999. If the file on the Section's awardee significantly exceeds the limits prescribed, it will not be considered for a national award and will be returned to the Section. Please send one copy of all materials to the Section Secretary:

Professor Karin Chess

Department of Mathematics

Owensboro Community College

4800 New Hartford Road

Owensboro, KY 42303

The Section Selection Committee will select the Section awardee during December and January and communicate its selection to the National Selection Committee no later than February 1, so that the National Committee can then make its selections.

We look forward to your participation in this exciting MAA venture of taking substantive action to honor extraordinarily successful teaching. We want to see such teaching recognized at all post-secondary school levels. We depend on you to help us identify those who merit such recognition.

Governor (1999-2002) Chair (1999-2001)

Donald Bennett Ray Tennant

Dept. of Math. & Statistics Dept. of Math., Stat. & Comp. Sci

P.O. Box 9 Eastern Kentucky University

Murray State University Richmond, KY 40475

Murray, KY 42071 tennant@acs.eku.edu

dbennett@mursuky.edu

AHSME Coordinator(1997-2000) Vice-Chair (1998-2001)

David Shannon J. Lyn Miller

Dept. of Mathematics Department of Mathematics

Transylvania University Western Kentucky University

Lexington, KY 40508-1797 Bowling Green, KY 42101

dshannon@transy.edu lyn.miller@wku.edu

Secretary/Treasurer (1997-2000) Newsletter Editor (1997-2000)

Karin Chess William Harris

Department of Mathematics Dept. of Math, Physics & Comp. Sci.

Owensboro Community College Georgetown College Box 234

4800 New Hartford Road 400 E. College St.

Owensboro, KY 42303 Georgetown, KY 40324

karin.chess@kctcs.net wharris@georgetowncollege.edu

Lisa Elderbrock Amy C. King

Dept. of Math. and Comp. Sci. 1228 Tates Creek Road

Northern Kentucky University Lexington, KY 40502

Highland Heights, KY 41099 amyking@lex.infi.net

elderbrockl@nku.edu