Welcome to the home page of the
Mathematical Association of America
Southern California-Nevada Section
Recent Postings
- Alessandra Pantano receives the Section's 2026 Crawford Teaching Award
- Fall 2026 Section Meeting announced to be on Sat Oct 24, 2026 at Cal State LA!
- Read our section's past history! Help write the history of the past 25 years!
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Save the Date: Fall 2026 Meeting
The Fall 2026 Section Meeting will be at Cal State LA on Saturday Oct 24, 2026.
Meeting highlights will include:
- Invited addresses
- Our usual Contributed Paper Session. Abstract submissions usually open late-August through late September (about 3 weeks before the meeting).
- Our program board is working on some extra treats as well.
Hope to see you there!
Alessandra Pantano wins the Section's 2026 Carol Crawford Teaching Award
Dr. Alessandra Pantano of University of California, Irvine is the winner of our Section's 2026 Carol Crawford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, who "through extraordinary classroom innovation, tireless mentorship, and extensive outreach ... embodies the spirit of this award" as quoted from her nomination.
At UCI, Pantano has contributed to teaching and curriculum development across the undergraduate mathematics program, especially at key transition points: entering the major, learning to write proofs, preparing for secondary mathematics teaching, and engaging in research. She has helped develop courses and curriculum resources that support these transitions, and has contributed to departmental teaching infrastructure through her work with learning assistants and through mentoring graduate students on active-learning teaching practices.
Her outreach programs — the UCI Math Circle, UCI Math CEO, and UCI Math ExpLR — have created opportunities for middle and high school students to engage with mathematics through enrichment activities, mentoring, research experiences, and STEM field trips. These programs and collaborations support regional and national efforts to broaden access to high-quality mathematics enrichment grounded in culturally responsive curriculum, mentor preparation, community-oriented Math Circle practices, and research on informal pedagogy in afterschool STEM programs serving underserved youth.
A central part of Pantano's work has been increasing participation and advancement in mathematics for women and for students from historically marginalized groups at multiple stages of the mathematical pipeline. Her education research includes projects on culturally responsive pedagogy in STEM afterschool programs, teacher noticing in undergraduate mathematics, and strategies to foster engagement and inclusive collaboration in intro-to-proof courses. She has also participated in faculty learning communities focused on promoting inclusive excellence in undergraduate STEM education, including efforts to better understand opportunity gaps, classroom environments, and students' experiences in proof-based courses.
We congratulate Dr. Alessandra Pantano on this award and look forward to her Invited Address at a section meeting this coming year!
Did you know...
...that the SoCalNv Section of the MAA had its first meeting in 1925? Read about SoCalNv MAA Section History (pdf) in this article written for the Spring 2000 meeting program by Ernie Solheid.
Help Write Our Section History!
Do you have a special memory of an MAA Southern California Section meeting, event, or personality? Please share it with Karrolyne Fogel kfogel @ callutheran.edu.