Date:  April 28, 2003

To:     MAA Department Liaisons

From: David Stone, Chair
          MAA Committee on Liaisons

Re:     Liaison Feedback from Joint Math Meetings


As incoming chair of the Liaisons Committee, I'd like to thank outgoing Chair John Petro for his leadership and his stewardship of the program to date. Many years ago, my first MAA official role was "department representative" and I firmly believe in the value of the MAA’s network of local contacts.

More than 125 of you attended the Liaisons Breakfast held at the Joint Math Meetings in Baltimore in January. The food was good, as was the opportunity to discuss issues with colleagues. Two discussion questions were posed at the breakfast tables and many people took the time to write out thoughtful comments. I’d like to report to all of you the flavor and some details of the responses and comments.

(Q1) Faculty members have heavy time demands placed on them by all of their teaching, research, and service commitments.  
(a) What suggestions do you have to help faculty cope with the problem?  
(b) What can the MAA do to help with this?

For (a), respondents generally felt that setting priorities, effective time management, and learning that it OK to say “no” sometimes were the best ways to cope with the problem.  Specific suggestions included keeping a time log to discuss with your administrator, getting involved with existing faculty professional development programs at your institution or in your areas, and trying to repeat courses taught and maintaining committee membership, especially early in your career.  One respondent replied that they are experimenting with a team teaching approach to a large section of calculus with the ultimate goal of reducing the teaching load.           


For (b), respondents recommended that the MAA do what it does best for faculty:

* help faculty network, by sponsoring forums, sessions at national and section meetings, workshops, list-serves, web boards. In fact, several people commented that the MAA’s Project NExT already works to help * new * faculty members address these issues and suggested the NExT models of sessions and e-mail discussion lists be expanded/copied.

* provide information -- making a comprehensive list of resources addressing these concerns, information regarding grant and other funding opportunities, as well as curricular materials, and provide reviews and commentaries (Math DL, for instance);

* act as a professional voice for faculty – establishing and advocating guidelines for departments; talking to administrators about teaching loads, research expectations, service commitments for the different stages of a career and at various types of institutions.

* providing professional development activities which provide strategies, augment skills and help to avoid “reinventing the wheel”. An experienced faculty member suggested a workshop entitled “No Is Not a 4-Letter Word”.


(Q2) The future of our profession is dependent on the success that current faculty members have in recruiting math majors and encouraging them in their studies.
(a) What suggestions do you have to help faculty in doing this?
(b) What can the MAA do to help with this?

Three suggestions really prevailed, with most mentioning at least one of the three. The predominant suggestion was to focus more time and material on providing career information to students. The MAA’s 101 Careers in Mathematics is a great point of reference, but it is not feasible to distribute this to hundreds of potential math majors. Many respondents requested brief but concise brochures on careers, an ultra-slim version of the book, which would be easy to distribute. Some also proposed profiles on graduate and post-grad students on university websites or even the MAA website. We could also send short career vignettes to liaisons, who could pass them on to potential math majors. Many students do not realize the potential and flexibility of studying mathematics.

Advertising university success stories was also a popular suggestion. Successful departments should be models who share productive and effective strategies. Teachers and departments need more opportunities to share and discuss ideas.

Many respondents pointed out that the MAA could only do so much and that often the deciding factor is how much effort individual teachers put into “recruiting”. A popular suggestion was to focus on the younger students in calculus classes. Departments could organize more freshman activities such as math clubs, where not only meetings would be held, but where kids can get study help, socialize and become part of a mathematical community. Many stressed the call for mentoring, taking promising students “under your wing”. Instead of telling the whole class they should consider a math major, a faculty member should personally let kids know of their potential. Many want to show videos, including career information and math applications. Recruiting from high schools was also mentioned often. Many stressed the importance of developing a strong relationship with high school teachers and making the materials and information mentioned above available to their students.

Other recurring suggestions included touting mathematics as a double major, holding workshops for reviewing math journals, and inviting speakers to talk about the role mathematics plays in their careers.


For those who would like to see all of your colleagues' responses in full, click here.