NES MAA

Three years have gone by quickly. This is my last governor’s message as I complete my term this spring. I have enjoyed this opportunity to represent the section and to gain a better appreciation of the national MAA. Thank you.

This January we met in Washington DC. It was a very successful meeting with over 6000 participants. In addition to interesting talks, good conversations and productive meetings, I had a chance to visit MAA headquarters for the first time. It’s a beautiful old building with many nice mathematical touches and the carriage house is an attractive venue for programs. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually found our section brick on the river of bricks commemorating Paul Halmos.

At the governor’s meeting we were updated on our financial situation. We of course are not immune to the general downturn of the stock market, but with our conservative investment philosophy we have not suffered as badly as many others. More information can be found on the treasurer’s page in the members’ only portion of the website: http://www.maa.org/treasurer/. In general our financial condition remains solid. However, after two years of operating budget deficits and another deficit projected for this year, Tina Straley outlined ways to modify an already tight budget and possible choices for future action, if necessary. If you want more information about the MAA budget, I’m sure Rick Cleary would be happy to fill you in.

MAA elections are coming up and this year they will be electronic, unless you specifically request a paper ballot.

As always, members of the section are encouraged to serve on national committees. You can take a look at the opportunities at http://www.maa.org/committees/. If you would like to be on a committee, just let me or another officer know.

An early reminder if you have an exemplary new faculty member: the Adler Award is a distinguished teaching award for mathematics faculty two to seven years after their Ph.D. Nominations aren’t due until October 1, but this could be a great summer project to support a worthy young colleague. More information can be found at: http://www.maa.org/awards/alder_award.html.

At the governors’ meeting we were updated on the MAA strategic planning process. This time our breakout sessions focused on publications. One major idea under consideration is delivering MAA journals electronically. We also received the final report on membership. There are many membership issues currently under review: consolidation of membership categories, electronic memberships, student memberships, institutional memberships, international memberships, etc. (I am the chair of the membership committee and would welcome any ideas or feedback you have on membership issues.) Implementation of governance changes continues with a committee formed to revise the MAA bylaws.

One change that elicited a fair amount of comment was that student speakers at Section meeting will no longer receive a free MAA membership. The cost of servicing a large number of free memberships and the extremely low rate of renewal led to the decision. But a student rate of $30 with Math Horizons is still an incredible deal. The MAA continues to support students in a variety of ways including career information on the MAA website and grants to support travel to Mathfest and the Joint meetings and to support undergraduate mathematics conferences.

I encourage you to check out the MAA website frequently. News items, a daily problem, pictures of “found” math and contributed columns are constantly changing.

Finally, I hope to see you at the spring meeting at Fairfield. This summer you might plan a west coast vacation around Mathfest in Portland. Our family had a wonderful time exploring Washington and Oregon before Mathfest in San Jose two years ago and I am looking forward to getting back to the area.

The full Newsletter in PDF Format