MATTERS MATHEMATICAL

The Newsletter of the 
PNW Section of the MAA

November 2008

2009 PNW MAA Meeting at 
Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington, home of Central Washington University, is loading up the bucking chutes, polishing its spurs, and rolling out the rough stock in anticipation of the next annual meeting of the PNW MAA, April 3-4, 2009. It has been 29 years since CWU hosted our regional meeting. That was the year that Mt. St. Helens erupted and dropped three to six inches of ash throughout Ellensburg and the CWU campus.

The meeting will begin Friday April 3 with three minicourses: Mathematica with Stan Wagon, SAGE (a free Computer Algebra System, www.sagemath.org) with William Stein, and Theory of Partitions with George Andrews.Friday evening’s invited address will be given by Stan Wagon of Macalester College. Wagon’s talk will be about The 100-digit Challenge Problems.

Saturday morning will begin with this year’s George Polya lecturer George Andrews: The Lost Notebook of Ramanujan.Saturday will also have a variety of contributed paper sessions. The evening banquet is scheduled to begin at 6:00 and will include an after dinner lecture by Stan Wagon.

Our section has made it a priority that the Spring meeting be student friendly. This year’s meeting will continue that admirable trend. There will be dedicated sessions for undergraduate student papers and additional student activities are being planned. So, gather up one, three, or ten of your favorite students and bring them to Ellensburg and give them the opportunity to share their research, present a paper, or have them come and just enjoy one of our meetings. 

Ellensburg, Washington, sits nicely in the picturesque Kittitas Valley. The craggy, and often snow covered (especially in April) Stuart Mountain range can be seen northwest of Ellensburg, Mission ridge lies to the northeast and the Manastash ridge lines the southern portion of the valley. Our fair city is 110 miles east of Seattle and about 220 “gorge”ous miles from Portland. The weather in April is typically cool and windy with occasional rain. 

The CWU campus, an appealing mixture of traditional and modern architecture, consists of 83 mostly brick buildings, stretching across 380 acres of shaded lawns that are framed by evergreens, landscaped malls, and walks. A nationally renowned Japanese garden in the center of the grounds offers a serene refuge from campus bustle. The University is four blocks north of historic downtown Ellensburg, and shops and restaurants are within walking distance.

Visit our website, www.cwu.edu/~cwumath/pnwmaa/, for more information. Be sure to check back frequently as additional information such as lodging and registration will be added.

Governor’s Report – Nancy Ann Neudauer

The 2008 MathFest found us on the isthmus that is Madison, Wisconsin between Lakes Mendota and Menona, home of one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, my alma mater.  The meeting was held in the spectacular Frank Lloyd Wright-designed convention center on the shore of Lake Mendota, and attendees enjoyed its terrace, as well as the free entertainment at the Memorial Union terrace.  But enough about Madison, and what you may have missed.  Though if you did miss, MathFest brings us back to Madison in 2012 – Save the date.

On a shorter horizon, the 2009 MathFest will take place in our own Pacific NorthWest section in Portland, 6-8 August 2009.  We hope to have a very strong presence from the section, and, if you have not been able to attend a MathFest in a while, please take this as an opportunity to reacquaint yourself.  MathFest has really grown in recent years, with record attendance and outstanding sessions and talks.

Many of our section members are already actively involved with the planning of this meeting:  Ken Ross is chairing the Program Committee, which also includes Amy Shell-Gellasch, Jennifer Quinn, and me.  I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but other section members are putting together Invited Paper Sessions, Contributed Paper Sessions, and may even be appearing elsewhere on the program.

Back to the subject at hand.  The Governors met on 30 July 2008 in Madison prior to MathFest.  MathFest attendance was around 1400 – almost as high as the previous year’s record attendance.

The MAA leadership has been concerned about retention rates in MAA membership; with the addition of new staff member Robert Anastasio, retention rates were up for 2008, but increasing our membership remains a priority.  We encourage your school to get an institutional membership if you do not have one, and please encourage colleagues to join the MAA.

The Strategic Working Group on Membership presented its final report.  Among its recommendations is that basic dues should be determined by income, rather than status.  It suggests that the MAA further explore expanding our international membership, including establishing relationships with foreign mathematical associations whereby the foreign associations could offer their members access to MAA journals electronically.  The entire report will be available at MAA Online with the other strategic reports (go to 
http://www.maa.org/subpage_5.html 
and select Strategic Planning Reports (members only)).

Finances also have been a concern; the budget deficit for 2007 was larger than expected, and the 2008 and 2009 budgets both project deficits.  There is a general recognition that while small operating deficits may be acceptable in the short term, there is a need to bring revenues and expenses in balance, especially in times when investments may not be able to make the difference in the bottom line.  MAA Treasurer John Kenelly notified the Governors in early October that our conservative and diversified investment strategy should bring us through the current economic problems in better shape than most investors.  Some current financial information about the MAA is now placed in MAA Online, in the “members only” section.

The Strategic Work Group on Meetings is beginning its work. It is studying the timing and economics of our national meetings, as well as the demographics of attendees, to assess the opportunities and threats for attendance.

The Strategic Work Group on Periodicals and Communications met for the first time at Math Fest, beginning their exploration of issues such as the relation between online and print journals, and their pricing structure.

At the Governor’s Meeting there were focus groups conducted by the Strategic Work Group on Sections.  Focus groups discussed how to involve sections in strategic planning.  We also discussed ideas for attracting new MAA members; one strategy is for all of us to encourage our new colleagues to come to our section meetings (our section meeting in April will again include a session where faculty new to the section can give talks on their research).  Another topic of discussion was nominating section members for national MAA committees.  I would like to thank all of you who serve the MAA, through the section, Project NExT, or on a national committee. Please let me know if you are interested in serving on a national committee.  And let our chair, John Thurber, or chair-elect, Jennifer Nordstrom, know if you would like to serve in the section.

The Strategic Work Group on STEM Issues, led by incoming MAA President David Bressoud, also conducted focus groups at the Governor’s meeting.  This work group is considering what the MAA can do to highlight and encourage change to better serve all students who take mathematics and to actively (and professionally) facilitate discussion (within departments) to change curriculum and add courses as junior faculty with different backgrounds and perspective are brought into departments that offer a more traditional curriculum.  We learned that what we had traditionally thought of as applied mathematics to prepare students for jobs in industry was changing:  for example, the NSA seeks graduates with a very strong background in pure algebra, discrete and combinatorial mathematics, and computing.  We also considered how to develop curricula that will attract students to take more mathematics and better prepare them for whatever comes after graduation, and to encourage more students, especially those from under-represented groups, to study more mathematics.  The charge includes the suggestion that the accomplishment of those goals might be furthered by “new models of stronger major programs, innovative interdisciplinary programs, and attractive terminal master’s programs.”

The AMS, MAA, MSRI, NAM, and NCTM are developing a database of minority graduate mathematics students and professionals.  The initial focus is informing the students about MSRI seminar opportunities.  Two new posters were unveiled at the Math History Sigma (HOMSIGMAA) meeting at MathFest: “Ethnomathematics: Exploring the Role of Mathematical Thought in Traditional and Indigenous Societies” and “Women in Mathematics.” Every MAA member received a copy of the Ethnomathematics poster in the September issue of FOCUS, and a copy of the Women in Mathematics poster was mailed to department liaisons this fall.

MAA Online had about 63,000 visitors per week this year, up about 30% over the previous year.  The most popular destinations include the student career page, the publications page, Math Classifieds, and the bookstore.  MAA Membership can now be renewed online at the MAA website.  There is an MAA Group for Students on Facebook; it currently has over 100 members.

The US came in third in this year’s Mathematics Olympiad – the US had 4 gold medals including one perfect paper.  Thirty-six universities and colleges served as an AMC 10/AMC 12 Host Site last February; February 25, 2009 is the next date when universities and colleges can be a test site for this first step of the Mathematics Olympiad.  An article about the experiences of these colleges and universities will appear in an upcoming issue of  FOCUS.  MAA Second Vice-President Daniel Teague from the North Carolina School of Science and Math organized a PREP Workshop “Making the Transition”, about coaching students to a higher level of performance on the AIME Contest.  A USA team competed at the Chinese Girls Mathematics Olympiad (with support from MAA and MSRI) in August; all eight USA team members returned home with medals (2 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze).

I hope to see you at the Joint Meetings in Washington, DC, and at our Section meeting at Central Washington University.

Editor’s Greetings

Thanks to all of the contributors to this issue.  I am always amazed at how much we have going on in our section, from individual fame (like Amy Shell-Gellasch’s Ethnomathematics poster) to campus efforts (like Highline’s Achieving the Dream initiative).  Please feel free to send me news or articles for future issues at any time.

Be sure to spread the word on MathFest, which will be in Portland, Oregon this year!

Colin Starr, cstarr@willamette.edu

PS: Please note that some of the longer hyperlinks must be copied and pasted into your browser to make them work.  It’s a mystery to me, too!

MathNexus

The MathNexus web site was developed as a resource for mathematics teachers (7-14) as part of a Math-Science Project; it continues as a free website of unusual mathematics education content. Faculty at Western Washington University provide the weekly content and maintain the web site. It receives about 4000 hits weekly. Link: 
http://mathnexus.wwu.edu/

MAA Launches Math Classifieds

By Carol Baxter, Assistant Director of Publications, MAA
The MAA has unveiled its new tool for both job seekers and prospective employers, mathclassifieds.org. The already popular “Math Jobs” section of MAA Online has added a number of features that make it easier for job seekers to find that perfect fit, and likewise for institutions and companies seeking candidates for their mathematical positions. At Math Classifieds you can:

•	Create an Employer Account: Employers can post jobs, update and edit job announcements, search for candidates, and contact potential candidates.
•	View Résumés: Employers can check out résumés and pay only for the ones that interest them.
•	Create a Job Seeker Account: A personal job seeker account allows members to find jobs, manage résumés, and set up job alerts.
•	Post a Résumé: Job seekers now have the ability to post their résumé online. Whether actively or passively seeking work, an online resume is your ticket to great job offers.
•	Sign up for personal job alerts: Job Alerts allow new jobs that match a seeker’s search criteria to be emailed directly to them. 

MAA Math Classifieds provides a unique service that pairs job seekers with degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. levels with potential employers eager to hire candidates with a math background.

To access Math Classifieds, simply click on the link at the top-right portion of the MAA Homepage, or just type www.mathclassifieds.org into your browser. Take a look around, and remember that Math Classifieds is the new home for all of your mathematical employment needs.

Ethnomathematics Poster Created by 
PNW MAA Member 
Amy Shell-Gellasch

Amy Shell-Gellasch, Pacific Lutheran University, created the Ethnomathematics poster MAA members received in the September issue of Focus.

To view or order a copy, please visit

http://www.maa.org/pubs/posterE.pdf

PNW Project NExT at the Section Meeting in Helena, Montana

By Klay Kruczek

The Pacific Northwest Section NExT Meeting of 2008 in Helena, MT began with its fourth annual pre-NExT dinner and discussion on Wednesday evening, June 18 at The Brewhouse. Dinner conversation focused on goings on at the respective universities.

Thursday’s meeting was attended by twenty PNW Section NExT Fellows, National NExT Fellows, consultants, speakers, and Project ACCCESS Fellows.  We had two new  PNW section Fellows this year, Scott Beaver (Western Oregon University) and Jeff DiFranco (Seattle University).

The day’s first session, organized by Christina Negoita (Oregon Institute of Technology) and James Bisgard (Central Washington University), focused on the “Nuts and Bolts of Team Teaching.”  Chris Black (Central Washington University) spoke about her experience teaching a methods and classroom management course for prospective secondary mathematics teachers, with a professor in the Education Department.  Jennifer Laveglia (Bellevue Community College) shared her experience working with an Economics professor, teaching a college algebra / microeconomics course, and team teaching an intermediate algebra course focused on study skills.  Both speakers gave excellent insight into the different approaches to team teaching a course.

We had the distinct honor of having Joe Gallian (Project NExT co-director and MAA President) speak about “Getting your research off to a good start.”  He gave excellent advice about deciding where to publish, finding good problems, what to do if your paper is not accepted, co-authorship, and various types of papers to write.  Even people who have well established research programs can learn a few things from Joe’s presentation and his work ethic.

Our third session of the day was a panel discussion on “What is happening in High School and Pre-Calculus and below.”  Cheryl Beaver (Western Oregon University) and Klay Kruczek (Western Oregon University) reported on their findings from a survey they conducted with high school teachers and college professors teaching Pre-Calculus and College Algebra in the Pacific Northwest.  Bonnie Spence (University of Montana) and Jenny McNulty (University of Montana) discussed their work with an NSF-sponsored algebra program (Connections) that grouped mathematicians, math educators and HS math teachers to discuss algebra.  We hope to have a follow up discussion next year concerning creative ways to handle service courses and how to assess these courses.

Jennifer Nordstrom (Linfield College) updated us on the Mathematics Department’s progress getting ready for accreditation.  She discussed how to get the other department members involved, making it a more enjoyable and worthwhile process, and what the accreditation team really wants.

The final topics of the day were curriculum discussion and “What’s NExT?” Scott Beaver and Jeff DiFranco indicated what they will be teaching next year.  Participants in the NExT meeting gave advice on how to effectively run a class using the Moore Method and finding good Mathematica labs for a calculus class.  Besides the previously discussed idea of creative ways to handle service courses, ideas for next year’s sessions included how to bolster introduction to proofs classes and their impact in later mathematics courses, classroom conundrums and academic integrity in the Internet age, and success rates in algebra based courses which satisfy the general education requirement. To learn more about Project NExT, visit http://www.math.umt.edu/pnwnext/.

Persi Diaconis to be Pi Mu Epsilon Frame Lecturer 
By Leo Schneider
Great news!The Pi Mu Epsilon Frame Lecture at the 2009 Pi Mu Epsilon national conference held in conjunction with the MAA's MathFest in Portland Oregon Wednesday August 5 through Saturday August 8, 2009 will be given Friday evening August 7 by Professor Persi Diaconis from Stanford University.His title and abstract are:
"The Mathematics of Perfect Shuffles"
Magicians and gamblers can shuffle cards perfectly (demonstrations provided). Understanding what can (and cannot) be done with shuffles leads to math problems, some beyond modern mathematics. math is also useful for describing all sorts of computer algorithms.

hope to see all of you there!

Highline Community College Mathematics Department Engages in Mentoring Initiative with Developmental Mathematics Students

Jason Ramirez (jramirez@highline.edu), Erik Scott (escott@highline.edu), and Helen Burn (hburn@highline.edu), Highline College

The mathematics department at Highline Community College is in its second year of an Achieving-the-Dream student mentoring intervention that connects students in developmental mathematics courses with faculty mentors in a structured relationship. Achieving the Dream is a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students earn degrees and certificates or transfer to other institutions to continue their studies, with a focus on students who face significant barriers in higher education, particularly students of color or of low income. The mentoring intervention is a two quarter program that focuses on (1) developing habits that help students succeed in classes and (2) facilitating a commitment to a college education.

To develop the initiative, the team drew from student engagement research (Tinto and others) and the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges’ (AMATYC) Crossroads and Beyond Crossroads documents to design a four-year plan.  The department chose to focus on students enrolled in beginning and intermediate algebra (Math 91 and 97) because these courses are among the highest enrollment courses on campus yet rank fourth, and fifth in  students who receive grades below 2.0 (Math 91: 39.5%; Math 97: 32.8%). In addition, usage data indicated that these two courses place the highest demand on the Tutoring Center and are “gatekeepers” in that nearly all college programs and transfer degrees have proficiency in algebra as a prerequisite. 

The year one results of the intervention are promising. Of the 32 students who participated during the 2007-08 academic year, 68.8% completed Math 91 or 97 successfully (2.0 or better) in fall quarter 2007 compared to 46.5% of students in a comparison, an increase of 22.3 percentage points. Persistence was also suggestive of the benefits of the mentoring relationship, as 50% of the intervention students enrolled in a follow-on math course during winter of 2008 compared to 36.7% of the comparison group—an increase of 13.1 percentage points. In addition, 40.6% enrolled in a follow-on math course in spring quarter of 2008 compared to 26.2% of the comparison group.

Responding to mentor comments, we revised the mentoring manual.  Among the changes are clearer definitions of the mentor’s role and a presentation of the curriculum at several levels of detail.  The latter change accommodates the different needs for structure among the mentors while still providing a coherent vision.  Consistency across mentors is also being addressed through regular, structured meetings with the mentors.  These meetings address one other weakness of the first year, namely inconsistent data reporting, by providing time for mentors to complete their data forms at the meetings.

For a more detailed article and a project poster, please visit 
http://www.highline.edu/ia/atd/docs/PNW_MAA_Newsletter_fall2008.pdf and 
http://www.highline.edu/ia/atd/docs/AtDPoster2008.pdf

Notes on MathFest 2009 
by Ken Ross

Next summer, the MAA's MathFest will be held in Portland, Oregon. The dates are August 6-8, 2009. The known speakers are:

MAA Hour Speakers: 

1.	Alice Silverberg (University of California at Irvine), number theory
2.	Steven Strogatz (Cornell University, Department of Theoretical and
Applied Mechanics), small world networks
3.	Alan Taylor (Union College), theory of voting and fair division
4.	Greg Warrington (Wake Forest University), algebraic combinatorics

Hedrick Lecturer:Ravi Vakil, an algebraic geometer at Stanford

Silver & Gold MC:our own Afton Cayford (U of British Columbia)

Silver & Gold speaker: Bob Osserman (Stanford University and MSRI)

Members of the section are invited to submit proposals for organizing a (special) session for this MathFest. They should be submitted to the MAA Associate Secretary, Gerard Venema, 

venema@calvin.edu

or the chair of the Program Committee, Ken Ross

rossmath@pacinfo.com

or better yet submitted to both of them. Contact Gerard Venema for more information about scheduling.

Upcoming section meetings:

2009 MathFest in Portland, OR
2009 PNWMAA at CWU (see page 5)
2010 PNWMAA at Seattle University
2011 PNWMAA in Juneau, Alaska (proposed)

http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cayf/events.html (section)

http://www.maa.org/subpage_4.html (national)

Call for Sessions

In preparation for the 2009 Pacific Northwest Section MAA Meeting, to be held April 3-4 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, we are now inviting proposals for special sessions.

Session Topics at recent meetings and possible new sessions include:

•	Junior Faculty Research;
•	Student Research/REU;
•	Student Papers on Modeling and the MCM;
•	Discovery, Moore Method and Alternative Teachings Methods;
•	Interdisciplinary Talks;
•	Discrete Mathematics;
•	Algebra/Algebraic Geometry;
•	Dynamical Systems;
•	Innovation in College Algebra/Precalculus General Papers;
•	Activities of Successful Math Clubs;
•	Introduction to Proof-Writing courses;
•	Theory, Education, and Applications in Probability and Statistics;
•	Senior Thesis/Capstone projects.

If you are interested in organizing a session of 15 minute talks on any of these topics or another of your choice, please submit your proposal by January 15.

Your proposal should include:

(1) Title of the session;
(2) Name of the organizer(s) and their detailed contact addresses;
(3) One or two paragraphs describing the theme and topics covered by the session.
(4) The names of a few potential speakers.

Please e-mail your proposal by January 15 to Hans Nordstrom:

nordstro@up.edu

Tentative Schedule of Events at CWU

FRIDAY, 4/3/09

Project NeXT

Minicourses
Stan Wagon (Mathematica)
George Andrews
William Stein (SAGE)

Lunch Break
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Dinner Break
6:00-8:00 p.m.

Evening Lecture
8:00 p.m.: Stan Wagon

SATURDAY, 4/4/09

Executive committee breakfast meeting
8:00-9:00 a.m.

Registration desk open
8:00 a.m.

Coffee and cookies/pastries
8:30-9:00 a.m.

Introduction/Welcome
9:00-9:15 a.m.

George Andrews Lecture
 9:15-10:00 a.m.

Contributed talks
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Lunch/undergraduate activity
12:30-2:00 p.m.

Plenary Lecture
2:00-3:00

Break
3:00-3:15

Contributed talks
3:15-5:10 p.m.

Social Hour
6:00-7:00 p.m.

Awards Banquet
8:00 p.m.

Interested in
Project NExT?

Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) is a professional development program for new or recent graduates in the mathematical sciences (including pure and applied mathematics, statistics, operations research, and mathematics education).  It addresses all aspects of an academic career: improving the teaching and learning of mathematics, engaging in research and scholarship, and participating in professional activities. It also provides the participants with a network of peers and mentors as they assume their new responsibilities.

1.	What are the requirements for the national program?

Applicants for the national program must have a Ph.D. in the mathematical sciences and be in the first two years of a full-time college/university teaching position. For more information, visit
http://archives.math.utk.edu/projnext

2. What are the requirements for the PNW Project NExT section?

Applicants for the PNW section must have a Ph.D. or a master’s degree in the mathematical sciences and be within the first four years of full-time teaching at a college, university, or community college in the PNW. For more information, visit  
http://www.math.umt.edu/pnwnext/ 
or contact Jenny McNulty at McNulty@mso.umt.edu. 

3. How often do we meet?

Participants in the national program meet at two consecutive MathFests and at the intervening Joint Meetings of the AMS and MAA. Participants in the section NExT meet at two consecutive PNW MAA meetings.

4. When can I apply?

Deadlines for national NExT have not been announced as of yet, but it is in
April. The deadline for the section program is February 1, 2009. For more
information, visit the websites listed above.

SECTION NEWS

Alaska

The University of Alaska Anchorage Mat-Su College is pleased to announce the Dr. Ping-Tung Chang Scholarship Fund has reached the $25,000 endowment minimum.  The ultimate goal for the endowment fund is $100,000. The first scholarship from this fund will be awarded in Spring 2009. 

The scholarship will be awarded annually to qualifying, full-time UAA students who are Alaska residents.  Students who are past or present Mat-Su College Math Club members in good academic standing will be given preference.

British Columbia

Arch McFarlane retired from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in June 2008 after 10 years with the Math Department. Arch had previously worked in education within BC Tel. Arch had an incredible engagement with the students, and always received very warm feedback from them. He'll be missed and we wish him the best in his retirement. 

We hired Anthony Blackman, MSc in Mathematics (UBC) and MA in Economics (Simon Fraser); Brenda Fine, MSc in Mathematics (UBC), previously taught at Malaspina University College, Nanaimo; James McGovern, teaches in the BCIT mining technology and at the Art Institute of Vancouver; and Sa'ed Samedi, moved from Concordia University, Montreal, where he was an associate professor in Electronics and Computer Engineering. 

Michele Hemphill is acting department head, for fall 2008. 

David Holloway received an NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) grant for computational biology. 

The Math Department is actively working on teaching with tablet computers, for lecturing and marking. We are also developing Maple TA applications in many of our courses (chiefly algebra and calculus), which can automatically generate and mark quizzes and tests.

Dr. Matthew Greenberg of the University of Calgary won the 2008 CMS Doctoral Prize: “The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is pleased to award the 2008 CMS Doctoral Prize to Dr. Matthew Greenberg (Calgary).” The award will be presented at the Society's Winter Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario (December 2008). (Read more at http:// math.ucalgary.ca/news-events/news/dr-matthew-greenberg-wins-2008-cms-doctoral-prize)

Dr. Deniz Sezer joined the faculty of Calgary this year in mathematical finance. 
(http://math.ucalgary.ca/profiles/ayse-deniz-sezer)
Calgary also hired Dr. Veronique Godin (http://math.ucalgary.ca/profiles/veronique-godin) in topology.

 Dr. Jingjing Wu won the 2007 Pierre Robillard Award. “The Pierre Robillard Award is awarded each year by the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) to the author of the best doctoral thesis in probability or statistics defended at a Canadian university. In 2007, there are exceptionally two winners: Drs Juli Atherton and Jingjing Wu.”
(Read more at http://math.ucalgary.ca/news-events/news/dr-jingjing-wu-has-won-2007-pierre-robillard-award)

Oregon

Terri Torres joined the faculty at Oregon Institute of Technology this fall.  Her accomplishments include a B.S. from Brigham Young University, an M.S. in mathematics from Idaho State University, and an M.S. in statistics from Bowling Green State University received May 2008. 

This July, OIT received news that we were awarded an NSF S-STEM grant for Extending Participation in Computing at OIT. Sherry Yang (Computer Science) is the Principal Investigator on the grant, with co-PIs Maureen Sevigny (Management) and Cristina Negoita (Mathematics). For more
information about this grant, please visit www.oit.edu/EPIC.

Craig Swinyard, a University of Portland alum, rejoined the department this fall as an assistant professor after earning a doctorate in mathematics education from Portland State University. Swinyard's research interests include the modeling of student cognition in undergraduate mathematics courses, epistemological analysis as a research methodology, and students' understanding of concepts fundamental to the study of calculus and analysis.

Western Oregon University’s math curriculum for elementary school teacher preparation was among 10 programs singled out in a nationwide study as meeting critical coursework needs in teacher preparation. WOU was one of 77 institutions selected by the National Council on Teacher Quality for math curriculum review. The study examined university curriculums for their relevance, breadth and depth of math training. The complete report is available at the NCTQ: http://www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/nctq_ttmath_fullreport_20080626115953.pdf

This summer, Cheryl Beaver, Laurie Burton and Klay Kruczek hosted a Mathematical Association of America PREP (http://www.wou.edu/%7Eburtonl/wouprep/) workshop "Active Learning Approaches and Visual Methods for Teaching the Foundational Mathematics for Elementary Teachers Courses" at WOU for 17 participants from around the U.S.

Willamette University welcomes visiting Assistant Professors Cameron McLeman and Alex Jordan.  Professor McLeman earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2008.  Professor Jordan earned his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon in 2008.

Washington

Central Washington University welcomes its most recent tenure track faculty member, Jane Whitmire. Jane earned her master’s degree at WSU in 1996 and her Ph.D. at the University of Montana in 2006. Her primary professional interest is using technology in teaching mathematics. Although she has been here only one month she has already written a grant proposal for “visualizing the chain rule.” When she is not teaching or working on her computer, she enjoys swimming, gardening and cooking. Ellensburg is somewhat of a homecoming for Jane; she lived here for a few years in the late 60s when she was in elementary school. 

At the other end of the spectrum, Fred Cutlip has taught his last math class. Fred came to CWU in 1968. His hire, along with Fred Lister and Bob Dean of that year, doubled the size of our department to six full time members! (We now have twenty full time faculty.) In 1979 he received one of our school’s highest honors: Distinguished Professor of the Year in Teaching. In 1980 Fred and his colleagues managed the difficult task of sponsoring our regional meeting in Ellensburg – barely one month after the Mt. St. Helens explosion. (“There was six to twelve inches of ash everywhere and we didn’t know what to do with it at the time.”) In 1991 Fred and, co-author Bill Owen, published their textbook “Finite Mathematics with Applications” with the national textbook company HBJ publishers. He also served as department chair for twelve years. Although a native of the Midwest, Fred and his wife Jean have decided to remain in Ellensburg.

Faculty member Chris Milner of Clark College is now president-elect of The Washington Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges WAMATYC).  His official term as President will begin spring 2010.

Adam Nyman has been appointed to a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at Western Washington University. Prof. Nyman holds a B.S. degree in Physics from MIT, and completed a doctoral degree in mathematics at the University of Washington. Following a year of teaching at Pomona College he was appointed to a position at the University of Montana. His research interests center on algebraic geometry. While in Montana he was awarded an NSA Young Investigators Grant and won an excellence in teaching award. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2006. His move to Western is prompted in large part by a strong desire to return to the west coast.

Stephanie Treneer has been appointed to a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at Western Washington University. Prof. Treneer holds a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Whitman College, and completed a doctoral degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the guidance of Scott Ahlgren. She subsequently held a position as a Research Instructor at Dartmouth College. Her research has a focus on modular forms and their applications to number theory. Her husband, Colin Ferguson, also holds a doctoral degree in mathematics and is also teaching mathematics at Western. Their return to the west coast brings them closer to their respective families in Seattle.

Bob Fontenot, Professor of Mathematics at Whitman College, will retire in May, 2009
after34 years at Whitman beginning in 1975. Bob received his and doctoral degrees in mathematics from Louisiana State University in 1968 and 1972, respectively.  He was an assistantof mathematics at Oakland University in Michigan from 19721975. Bob looks forward to working on research in real analysis, reading, exercising, learning to speak, doing volunteer work, and spending time in coffee shops with family and friends, and with his wife Maryjo. The Department of Mathematics hopesreplace Bob with someone with expertise in statistics and/or research.