Janice Anita Brown Walker
- Ethnicity: African American
- Gender: F
- Year of Birth: 1949
- Place of Birth: Meridian, MS
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH 45207-4441
Voice (513) 745-2015
Fax (513) 745-1954
walker@xavier.xu.edu
Education
- Ph.D. Institution: Univ. of MI - Ann Arbor, 1982
- Advisor: Douglas G. Dixon
- Dissertation Title: Closure and Expansions in Series of Complex Exponentials
- MA Institution: University of Michigan, 1972
- BS Institution: Tuskegee University, 1972
Biography
Dr. Janice B. Walker grew up in a small town in Florida. She attended Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama, graduating in 1971. She began to think about graduate school during her junior year at Tuskegee. She was accepted into many prestigious graduate programs, choosing to attend the University of Michigan.
Dr. Walker was surprised by the large number of African Americans in Michigan's mathematics graduate program even though Michigan has a long history of recruiting and graduating African Americans. She was pleased to find that at the University of Michigan and in Ann Arbor, generally, "racial tension was not common." The atmosphere in the Mathematics Department, support of many faculty members and the camaraderie among the students made her time at Michigan rewarding, stimulating, and comfortable.
She recalls that "African American graduate students in the doctoral program formed a close-knit group that still exists. We were a family. We celebrated successes and shared failures." While she was there, the African American students formed a mathematics society, the Ishango Mathematics Society. The society provided support and information, encouraged cooperation and social interaction among African American graduate students, and gave them the opportunity to present talks.
Dr. Walker left Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1980, completing her doctorate in 1982. She is now an Associate Professor and has been chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her mathematical talent and the support of faculty and fellow students throughout her Educational career led to her success.
[Vicki Hill]