2005 Council Candidates


 
President:


Joan W. Weiss
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
203-254-4000, ext 2456
weiss@mail.fairfield.edu
Joan W. Weiss has been an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Fairfield University (CT Gamma Chapter) since 1985, Chair from 1992 to 1998, and an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Bradley University from 1979 to 1985. She has a Doctor of Arts degree from Idaho State University, an MS from the University of Delaware, and a BS from Carnegie Mellon University, where she was inducted into the Pennsylvania Epsilon Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon. She has been the Permanent Faculty Correspondent and Advisor for the Connecticut Gamma Chapter since its installation in 1986. In 1996 and 1999 she was elected a Pi Mu Epsilon Councillor and during that time was the Business Manager of the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal. Three years ago she was elected President-Elect. She has enjoyed her time on the Council and participating in the many Pi Mu Epsilon activities at national meetings. She is honored to serve as President and promises to continue to devote her energies to further the mission of Pi Mu Epsilon to promote and recognize scholarly activity in the mathematical sciences.
President-Elect:

David C. Sutherland
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Hendrix College
Conway, AR 72032
501-450-1253
sutherlandd@hendrix.edu
David C. Sutherland is Associate Provost and Professor of Mathematics at Hendrix College in Arkansas. He received a B.A. Degree from Hendrix College and an M.A. and Ph.D. From North Texas State University. His area of specialty is combinatorics. As an undergraduate student he served as President of the Arkansas Beta Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon. He had an undergraduate paper published in the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal and he made a presentation at a summer Pi Mu Epsilon meeting where he met and became friends with Dr. J. Sutherland Frame, a Pi Mu Epsilon legend. As a faculty member he has served as advisor for the Tennessee Gamma and the Arkansas Beta chapters. He has been the faculty advisor for seven student publications in the PME Journal; four of those papers received Andree Awards. He previously served a partial term on the Council and is now completing his first full term on the Council where he is webmaster for the PME web pages.
Past-President:

Robert S. Smith
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056-1428
513-529-3556
SmithRS@MUOhio.Edu
Robert S. Smith is a professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Miami University and director of the Junior Scholars ProgramÐa program for academically talented secondary students. He holds a B.S. from Morgan State College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. He has been on the faculty at Miami since 1969; however, his career has been punctuated with visiting positions at universities in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Smith served as the Chapter Advisor to the Ohio Delta Chapter from 1990 to 1993 and from 2000 to 2004. In 1992, he organized and directed the first-ever joint Pi Mu Epsilon/MAA Student Chapters Conference. He has also served as Councillor from 1992 to 1999, President-Elect from 1999 to 2002, and is currently serving as President. In spring 1994, he received the Mathematical Association of America Ohio Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.

Secretary-Treasurer:

Leo J. Schneider
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
John Carroll University
University Heights, OH 44118-4581
216-397-4481
leo@jcu.edu
Leo Schneider is a Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at John Carroll University near Cleveland. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Xavier University in Cincinnati and his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. When he was a new instructor at John Carroll, one of his first `extra duties as assigned' was to work with the mathematics club to write the petition to start a chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon. He was the Chapter Advisor of John Carroll's Ohio Lambda chapter for its first ten years. Others took over the Ohio Lambda Chapter leadership when he became heavily involved with the high school contest activities of the MAA on the national level. After 14 years of that intensive contest activity, he has returned to encouraging mathematics majors to attend regional undergraduate mathematics conferences to make presentations. He has completed two three-year terms on the Pi Mu Epsilon national Council and is the current national Secretary-Treasurer. Homepage
Editor, Pi Mu Epsilon Journal

Brigitte Servatius
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA 01609-2280
508-831-5361
bservat@wpi.edu
Brigitte Servatius holds Masters'degrees in mathematics and Physics from the Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria and a Ph. D. degree in mathematics from Syracuse University. Her main areas of research are discrete mathematics (rigidity matroids), combinatorial group theory and discrete geometry. Since her sabbatical year in Slovenia in 2003/2004 she is working on a book on geometric configurations. She has written and edited books and classroom materials for a wide range of educational levels from "Bracing of Grids" for high school students to "Matroid Theory" on the research level. She has been on the editorial board of the College Mathematics Journal and editor of The PME Journal since 1999.


 
Councillors:

Karen Bolinger
Department of Mathematics
Clarion University
Clarion, PA 16214
814-393-2360
kbolinger@clarion.edu
Karen Bolinger is an Associate Professor at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1989, working on viscoelastic thin filament models of fluid flow. She has served professional organizations in many capacities, including the chair of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education Mathematics Association, Environmental Mathematics SIGMAA founding member, AP Calculus Reader and Question Leader, Educational Testing Service CLEP Precalculus test development team, and Mathematics Contest in Modeling judge. She has guided students in mathematical biology projects, senior capstone investigations, and honors theses, and encouraged their participation in undergraduate research conferences. Her committment to developing the mathematical scholarship of students would make her an effective councilor for PME.

Paul Fishback
Department of Mathematics
Grand Valley State University
Allendate, MI 49401
616-331-2443
fishbacp@gvsu.edu
Paul Fishback received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Michigan. His research interests fall primarily in the areas of discrete dynamical systems and analysis, and he has mentored several undergraduate research projects that have been funded by the Council on Undergraduate Research, GVSU, and the GVSU NSF-REU Program. Early in his career, inspired primarily by a desire to promote a greater sense of student community within his department, he developed a passion for promoting undergraduate activities. In addition to establishing an active Student MAA Chapter, he led the drive to form a PME chapter at GVSU and served as the founding coordinator of the Michigan Undergraduate Conference, which has grown to become an annual event of the Michigan MAA Section. He currently serves as the Associate Editor of the Notes Series of the MAA. Homepage
John Harris
Department of Mathematics
Furman University
Greenville, SC 29613
864-294-3638
john.harris@furman.edu
John Harris is an Associate Professor at Furman University in Greenville,South Carolina. After graduating from Furman in 1991, he attendedgraduate school at Emory University, and he taught for five years atAppalachian State University in the mountains of North Carolina. John wasinducted into PME during his undergraduate years at Furman. He is nowhappy to be back at his alma mater, helping to welcome new members intothe PME chapter each year. John has been active in the MAA as a Fellow ofProject NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) and as director of the regionalNExT-SE program. He is now the South Carolina State Director for hissection of the MAA. John has organized a number of student researchconferences, the most recent being the Furman Undergraduate MathematicsConference. Working with undergraduate activities is one of the mostenriching things that he does, and he is excited about the possibility ofserving PME as Councillor. Homepage


 
Michelle Schultz
Department of Mathematical Sciences
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV 89154-4020
702-895-0363
schultzm@unlv.nevada.edu
Michelle Schultz has now served one term as a Councillor for Pi Mu Epsilon with her primary responsibility being that as Business Manager of The Pi Mu Epsilon Journal. If elected to a second term, she will gladly continue to serve in this capacity. She has also served as an Installing Officer twice in the last year, installing new Pi Mu Epsilon chapters and inducting their charter members. She is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she was hired upon completion of her Ph. D. in 1996 from Western Michigan University. Together with her students at UNLV, she petitioned for a new chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, and the Nevada Beta Chapter as installed in May 2000. This local chapter remains active, sponsoring mathematics activities for UNLV students as well as encouraging and supporting student attendance at mathematics meetings.


 
Angela Spalsbury
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
330-941-1803
angie@math.ysu.edu


Angela Spalsbury is an Assistant Professor at Youngstown State University (YSU) in Youngstown, Ohio. Angela has had over 15 years experience with Pi Mu Epsilon both as a student and a faculty advisor. She is currently advisor to one of the most dynamic PME chapters in the country. In addition to weekly meetings, mathematical talks, fund-raising, and various social events, the students in the YSU PME chapter host an undergraduate PME conference, bringing over 100 mathematics majors to campus. These students also enthusiastically participate in the national PME meeting during the summer, usually driven there by Angela. She received her BS degree from Kent State University, where she was president of PME as an undergraduate. She received her MSc degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and then returned to the United State to complete her PhD at Kent State University. She considers herself very lucky to work with such an energetic group of students! Homepage

Eve Torrence
Department of Mathematics
Randolph-Macon College
Ashland , VA 23005
804-752-7372
etorrenc@rmc.edu
Eve Torrence is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Randolph-Macon College. She is completing her first term on Council where one of her duties is coordinating the judging of the student talks at the annual PME meeting at MathFest. In 1996 Eve helped five students establish the Virginia Iota chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon at R-MC. Virginia Iota chapter members have presented research talks at regional MAA meetings and at MathFest. Several R-MC students have won awards for their presentations from the MD-DC-VA Section of the MAA, and two students won the outstanding designation for their entry to the COMAP MathServe contest. Randolph-Macon students have published articles in the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal, Math Horizons, and the UMAP Journal. One charter member of Virginia Iota is now a professor with her own active program of student research and participation in PME. Eve is also actively involved in the MAA and is currently the Chair-Elect of the Maryland-DC-Virginia Section.