Director of the William Lowell Putnam Competition

The MAA seeks applications for Director of the William Lowell Putnam Competition.

The Putnam Competition, offered annually, currently draws approximately 8000 contestants from 500 post-secondary institutions in the U.S. and Canada.

The Director is responsible for management and oversight of all aspects of the Competition. The Director will work with at least one Assistant Director, the Committee on the Putnam Competition, and MAA staff to ensure timely contest development, announcements and other communications, college/university registration, and reports. The Director manages the scoring process (typically involving approximately 40 readers). The Director will also oversee, advocate for, and help sustain and shape the Putnam Competition. We anticipate that the role will require approximately a 20% commitment (we actually view that as an upper bound), and we envision providing support for release time, but for the Director to remain in residence at their home institution.

Preliminary inquiries to any Search Committee member are welcome. A letter of interest may be submitted with or without preliminary contact and should include your experience with mathematical competitions, especially with the Putnam Competition; program or project management experience; your vision for the future of the Putnam Competition; and any other relevant experience. Please also submit a resume of no more than three pages. Letters of recommendation are not needed at this time.

Inquiries, applications, and nominations may be addressed to any member of the Search Committee: Tina Straley (chair), Paul Zorn, and Michael Pearson by email, with subject Putnam Competition, to hr@maa.org. Review of applications will begin on March 15.