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Long-time MAA Director of Competitions Walter Mientka Dies at 88

Walter E. Mientka of Lincoln, Nebraska, died on June 1, 2014. He was 88.

A professor of mathematics at the University of Nebraska for 45 years, Mientka served as the executive director of the MAA’s American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) for 23 years and the executive director of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) for four.

In an interview that appeared in the December 2012/January 2013 issue of MAA FOCUS, Mientka recalled presiding over the expansion of the AMC program, serving as the leader of the first-place 1994 USA IMO team, and identifying through the examination process the first female participant selected for the USA IMO team.

“It’s with sadness that I tell you that Walter Mientka died,” current Director of Competitions Steven Dunbar said at the welcoming event to celebrate the winners of the 43rd USA Mathematical Olympiad on June 2. “I think this is a worthy time to remember him.”

Read Mientka’s obituary.

News Date: 
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
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