Janice Anita Brown Walker

Ethnicity: African American
Gender: F
Year of Birth: 1949
Place of Birth: Meridian, MS

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

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

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]

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