Faculty Meeting

1. Call to Order
2. Chair's Remarks
3. Announcements
   • Sheldon Levias, Associate Director for the Engineering Academic Center
4. Committee Reports
   • Undergraduate Program - Thomas
   • Career Development - Billey
   • Graduate Program - Pevtsova
5. New Business
6. Executive Session
7. Adjournment

MINUTES

The regular meeting of the faculty of the Department of Mathematics was held via Zoom at 3:30pm PST, May 27, 2025. Max Lieblich, Chair, presided over the meeting. Rose Choi was the recording secretary.

Chair's Remarks

Max Lieblich updated the department on the climate of the graduate program and funding. There has been no news at this stage so nothing definitive can be stated but extensions beyond the fifth year will be few and far between, there are a series of cuts in the horizon, foreign enrollments may drop as complications arise with student visas, and TAs should anticipate working the full 20 hours per week.

Announcements

Sheldon Levias, Associate Director for the Engineering Academic Center (EAC), shared information on resources available to students at the EAC. Math faculty are invited to volunteer at a study session for Pathways for Inclusive Excellence (PIE) students at Loew Hall on June 6th, as well as to hold office hours at the facility for additional student support. Reach out to Sheldon at srl1@uw.edu if you would like to volunteer.

Committee Reports

The Undergraduate Program Committee proposed the following:

• Add two new courses: Math 303 (The Unreasonable Elegance of Mathematics) and Math 200-201 (Discrete Mathematics). Details were sent via email. A vote was held by unanimous consent and passed.
• Add Math 200 to the core of math’s BA/BS degree plans. A vote was held by unanimous consent and passed.
• Replace the current “competitive” admissions process for the math major with one where students can enter at any time after meeting a set of minimum requirements. A vote was held by unanimous consent and passed.
• Change Math 336 to a topics class in analysis. A vote was held by unanimous consent and passed.

The UPC also gave an overview of the current curriculum and contrasted that with the new curriculum.

The Career Development Committee added a new element to the Career Transition Series wherein students who completed internships over the summer shared their experiences and gave advice on the internship process. Many students received an internship this year so the department was able to place almost all of the remaining students into a TAship. In the Fall, faculty volunteers are needed (especially those who have recently gone through the academic job process) to provide guidance to graduating students interested in pursuing a research and teaching career. There will also be an industrial panel on Thursday with former students Clayton Barnes, Rebecca Hoberg, and Tvrtko Tadic. Many more events and volunteer opportunities are coming up so stay tuned.

The Graduate Program Committee proposed two new linear algebra courses: Math 554 (The Matrix) and Math 555 (The Matrix Reloaded). A vote was held by unanimous consent and passed. The committee also proposes updating the prerequisites to graduate courses in regard to undergraduate enrollment in these courses including restricting independent study to only current graduate students. A vote was held by unanimous consent and passed.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no new business, the meeting passed into executive session at 5:06pm.