At the national level, the MAA is in good shape financially, and membership is
growing. New software at the Washington headquarters should allow the
organization to function more efficiently; for example, you will soon be able
to order MAA books online. The Board of Governors authorized management to look
into electronic voting for national MAA elections, potentially saving time and
money used for paper ballots. (Sadly, only about 15% of us vote in these
elections.)
The CUPM has been working on guidelines for undergraduate programs in mathematics. See some of their documents at http://www.maa.org/news/cupm.html.
Check the MAA Web site for information on the exciting Mathematical Tour of Greece, May 22 to June 5.
A new SIGMAA has been formed, dealing with environmental mathematics. It plans to meet for the first time at the January meeting in Baltimore.
As always, please let me know about anything that you would like to see happening in the national organization, and especially let me know if you would like to volunteer for service at the national level. Also, the national nominating committee is soliciting nominations for President-elect (to succeed Ron Graham). If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Finally, a request. The Michigan Section Newsletter is provided free to all MAA members, as well as to all full-time faculty in mathematics at all the colleges, community college, and universities in Michigan. It is a major expense, but the Section officers have felt for many years that producing a high-quality Newsletter for this audience is important. The Newsletter is also available online at the Section Web site. If you are an MAA member, then you can do your part to support the Newsletter, as well as all the other worthwhile Section activities, from the annual meeting to the MMPC, by paying the voluntary Section dues; just fill out the form on page 28 and mail it in with your check. Note that dues-paying members receive free registration at our annual Section meeting. If you are not an MAA member, then please seriously consider joining at the national level (see the form) as well as paying your Section dues. Thanks!
Jerrold W. Grossman, Governor