Ithaca College

Dr. Cristina Gomez, Dr. Vera Babenko, Dr. Megan Martinez, and Dr. Ted Galanthy, all from the Department of Mathematics, have been awarded a grant from the Mathematical Association of America’s (MAA) Tensor Program for Women and Mathematics.  In awarding the grant, the MAA stated, “Our reviewers thought your project showed great promise to encourage and engage female students to continue to study mathematics.”

Disturbingly, female students are dropping out of mathematics because they are falling short of meeting the academic requirements or they see limited career mobility.  Although Ithaca College has been taking action to retain female students through tutoring and other academic support programs, this MAA award will complement those efforts by introducing students to successful female mathematicians and attractive career opportunities.  The award also represents a strong commitment from both the Department of Mathematics and the School of Humanities and Science to develop programs focused on the support of underrepresented groups.

The MAA award will help to  1) create a strong network of support for women in the Department of Mathematics through faculty mentoring and senior student mentoring; 2) provide opportunities to deepen knowledge of the history and diversity in mathematics through independent studies; 3) provide  students with opportunities to meet exceptional female mathematicians as role models to broaden students’ understanding of the role of mathematics; 4) provide more information about professional opportunities through hosting an industry panel and maintaining a web page; and, 5) provide opportunities for female high school students to learn about careers in mathematics and a broad range of applications of mathematics through a “Math for Women” Day.