This is the web edition of the Iowa Section Newsletter. To receive a printed copy of the newsletter or to make suggestions/comments, please contact the editor, Mark Mills, millsm@central.edu.

Contents

• Governor's Report
• 2004 Iowa Section Teaching Award
• 2004 Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Teacher
• UPDATE:  State Licensure of Mathematics Teachers
• Dates of Importance
• Departmental News
• Officers of the Iowa Section

Governor's Report

The MAA Board of Governors met on July 30, 2003 in Boulder CO, under the leadership of newly installed president Ron Graham. As always, a lot of information was provided in the day-long meeting. It is amazing to see how many different projects the MAA is involved in and how much they are doing to enhance the mathematics profession and to support excellence in undergraduate mathematics education!

• MAA treasurer John Kenelly reported that the MAA’s investments are doing well, but he also reminded us that the financial responsibility rests with the board. The MAA has a $6 million operating budget, it also administers $6 million in grants, owns $6 million in historic real estate on Washington DC, and has an endowment of $6 million. This endowment includes the recent $3 million that Paul and Virginia Halmos donated to establish a Mathematical Sciences Conference Center in Washington, DC. (see www.maa.org/news/011603halmos.html). The MAA’s endowment is now so big that we will need professional management!
• MAA membership is steady. We have a good retention rate, but relatively few new members. In order to make membership more attractive to new PhD’s the MAA is now offering very attractive introductory rates.
• Electronic voting resulted in a 22% increase in the number of ballots cast. There were 2462 paper ballots and 1135 web ballots cast. The MAA will continue to use electronic voting in national elections. In case you missed the results: Carl C. Cowen of Purdue University will be the MAA's next President. He will serve as President-Elect in 2004 and begin a two-year term as President in January 2005.
• The board approved schedules for future Math Fests: Aug 10-12, 2006, in Knoxville TN; Aug 3-5, 2007 in San Jose CA; and July 31-Aug 2, 2008 in Madison WI. For a complete list of upcoming national meetings, see www.maa.org/meetings/national_meetings.html.
• The deadline for nominations for the national Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching was moved back a little from February 1 to March 1, 2004. All sections are encouraged to promote their section award and to nominate a candidate for the national Haimo award (see https://enterprise.maa.org/awards/teachingawards.htm).
• The deadline for the first Henry L. Alder award for Distinguised Teaching by beginning College or University Faculty is December 15, 2003. Details can be found at www.maa.org/news/062703alder.html.
• Joe Gallian reported that Project NExT is in its tenth year and doing very well. The Exxon Mobile foundation renewed their grant which supports about half of this year’s fellows. The others are supported by other donors. The project needs $2500 per fellow per year, with travel covered by each individual’s institution.
• Don Alberts, director of MAA publications, circulated copies of the newest MAA books.  Visit the MAA bookstore and be sure to buy some at our next section meeting!
• MAA’s Professional Enhancement Programs (PREP) continue to offer lots of workshops. Information on PREP as well as PMET, Preparing Mathematicians to Educate Teachers, and many others can be found through the “Programs” link on the new MAA web site www.maa.org/.
• There now is a new Sigma: “Mathematics instruction using the Web”. For a complete list of all SIGMAAs see www.maa.org/SIGMAA/SIGMAA.html.
• Our section’s Elgin Johnson is the AMC chair. There are three general competitions in the American Mathematics Competitions program: AMC 8, AMC 10, and AMC 12 (see www.unl.edu/amc/). These examinations lead to the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), the USAMO, and the International Math Olympiad (IMO). In this year’s IMO the USA placed third, after Bulgaria and China.
• The MAA Study tour to Greece last May had 32 participants and was enjoyed by all. The next tour is planned for England, May 20- June 3, 2004 (see www.maa.org/england/). They are taking applications now!
• The MAA board unanimously endorsed the six recommendations for the undergraduate curriculum in the mathematical sciences presented in the CUPM report (see www.maa.org/cupm/welcome.html).
• The next Board of Governors meeting will be at the Joint Meetings in Phoenix in January 2004.

Ruth I. Berger
Luther College
bergerr@luther.edu

2004 Iowa Section Teaching Award

Each year, the section solicits applications for the Iowa Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.  The section winner is then a candidate for the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching.  The deadline for applications for the 2004 award is February 1, 2004.  For more information and an application, visit the award web page.

(Editor's note:  There are a lot of good teachers in our section.  Let's try to have a couple of nominees this year!)

2004 Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Teacher

Beginning this year, the MAA will be giving an award specifically targeted to beginning college or university teachers.  The Henry L. Alder Award is to honor beginning college or university faculty whose teaching has been extra ordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms. An awardee must have taught full time in a mathematical science in the United States or Canada for at least two, but not more than seven, years since receiving the Ph.D. Each year at most three college or university teachers are to be honored with this national award and are to receive $1,000 and a certificate of recognition from the MAA. Award recipients will be expected to make a presentation at one of the national meetings of the MAA. Nominations for the award may be made by any member of the MAA or by any section of the MAA.  The deadline for applications for the 2004 award is December 15, 2003.  For more information and an application, visit the MAA's Alder Award web page.

(Editor's note:  There are a lot of good young faculty in our section.  Let's try to have at least one nominee from our section!)

State Licensure of Mathematics Teachers

Joyce Becker (Luther College), Robert Keller (Loras College), Catherine Miller (University of Northern Iowa), and Karen Sabey (Wartburg College) are continuing work to update the State of Iowa content requirements for licensure in secondary mathematics. Most recently, the team administered a survey regarding possible changes in the requirements to all institutions in the State that make recommendations for licensure.  After analyzing the responses and finding some consensus, the team is currently developing a draft proposal for new requirements.   They will be making a presentation on this work at the Fall Math Conference at the University of Northern Iowa, October 17, 2003.   The team plans to bring their final proposal to the State Board of Education Examiners in December of this year.  A grant from the Iowa Math and Science Coalition supports this work, and the presentations the group made at meetings of the Iowa Council for Teachers of Mathematics and the Iowa Section of the MAA this past spring.

Dates of Importance

January 7-10, 2004 - National MAA Meetings in Phoenix.  Visit MAA Online at www.maa.org for more information.

April 17, 2004 - Iowa Collegiate Mathematics Contest, Central College, Pella.

April 16-17, 2004 - Annual Meeting of the Iowa Section, Central College, Pella.
 

This page was last revised on October 21, 2003.