AGENDA
- Call to Order
- Chair's Remarks
- Announcements
- Committee Reports
- Undergraduate Program Committee - Taggart
- Graduate Program Committee - Lieblich
- New Business
- Executive Session
- Adjournment
MINUTES
The regular meeting of the faculty of the Department of Mathematics was held in-person in C-36 Padelford Hall and virtually via Zoom at 3:30pm PST, November 2, 2021. John Palmieri, Chair, presided at the meeting. Rose Choi was recording secretary.
The meeting began with approval of the previous meeting’s minutes.
Chair's Remarks
The College has provided guidance to the department in regards to the job search and interview process. All interviews are to be conducted remotely this 2021-22 academic year or until significant change in public health guidance. This is to ensure the safety of the candidates and equity in the search process. Visits can be extended to those who receive job offers. Once the short-list has been decided, the voting faculty will utilize the usual process for the rankings.
Announcements
The Graduate Program Committee is revising the core analysis curriculum this year. The Committee is also thinking about a potential computing requirement or option to replace the language exam, which was eliminated last year. Comments on these efforts are welcome at any time.
TA feedback forms were shared with faculty and graduate students. The committee encourage everyone to fill these out in the hopes that any issues, positive or negative, can be acknowledged and addressed.
MSRI summer school nominations are due at MSRI by December 1st.
The Graduate Admissions Committee encourage faculty to find ways of reaching more international students to apply to the department. There has been a drastic decline in applications in the last year, quite possibly due to the complications brought on by the pandemic in addition to strict travel and visa restrictions.
The Field of Dreams conference, run by the Math Alliance, is happening this weekend. Please contact Sara Billey if you are interested in participating.
Committee Reports
The Undergraduate Program Committee proposed changing the prerequisite for MATH 442 either a minimum grade of 2.0 in MATH 334, or a minimum grade of 2.0 in MATH 208 and a minimum grade of 2.0 in MATH 224; and minimum grade of 2.0 in MATH 441. Offered: W.
The committee also proposed creating three new seminars:
- MATH 397: Mathematical Sciences Internship (1-6, max. 12) – Academic work completed in conjunction with a mathematical sciences-related internship. Does not apply towards Math major/minor or ACMS major. Credit/no-credit only.
- MATH 282: Exploring Opportunities in the Mathematical Sciences (1) – Explores topics related to majoring in and pursuing a career in the Mathematical Sciences. Topics include finding a community, diversity and equity issues in STEM and the Mathematical Sciences, academic planning, navigating academic support services, undergraduate research, graduate school, and careers in the Mathematical Sciences. Does not apply towards Math major/minor or ACMS major. Credit/no-credit only.
- MATH 382: Careers in Mathematical Sciences (1) – Helps students in the Mathematical Sciences prepare for careers. Focuses on identification of key skills, creating an effective resume, articulating interests and experiences, doing informational interviews and demonstrating professional communication. Does not apply towards Math major/minor or ACMS major. Credit/no-credit only.
A vote was held for all four proposals, passed, and approved.
The Executive Committee proposes a one-year experiment with how postdocs are ranked with regard to hiring. They recommend switching to what is called "approval voting". Each voting faculty member can rank someone #1 or not rank them at all, and they can cast as many #1 votes as they want. (So a typical ballot might have 5 people ranked #1, 7 people unranked. Or equivalently, a typical ballot might have 5 people labeled "yes" and 7 people labeled "no".) Then we order by the number of votes each candidate gets.
A vote was held, passed, and approved.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no new business, the meeting passed into executive session at 4:09pm.