Mathematics has been called "the great equalizer" for women because mathematical knowledge and skills enable women to compete for positions traditionally filled only by men. In this technological age, where change is an everyday occurrence, society needs minds prepared to assess situations accurately and quickly, learn easily, and act effectively. Studying mathematics develops these learning and problem solving skills and thus prepares the graduate for many careers.

 

Department Chair:
 Donald E. Miller
Office:
Madeleva 216
Phone:
574-284-4492
Contact us at:
 dmiller@saintmarys.edu
Goals of the Mathematics Department

The Mathematics Department supports the college in its Mission by fostering an academic climate of scholarship and learning. The student is aided in developing her quantitative skills and ability to think clearly and critically about complex problems while communicating her results with precision. the Department implements these components of the Mission Statement through the following goals:

1. The Department will offer a breadth of courses which will allow each student to develop her quantitative skills, her ability to think clearly, her use of technology, and her problem solving skills.

2. The Department will foster within each student an aesthetic appreciation for mathematical thinking.

3. The Department will emphasize problem solving strategies in all courses in order to develop each student's capacity for independent use of the content of the course.

4. The Department will foster the development of each student's communication skills.

5. The Department will foster the development of each student's learning skills and help her synthesize her knowledge in order to move to higher levels of independent learning.

In establishing these goals, the Department incorporated the recommendations of the Mathematical Association of America (1995) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000), the SIAM Report on Mathematics in Industry (1995), and the ASA Undergraduate Statistics Education Initiatives (1999).

The Department, in all its offerings, is responsive to the needs of women --- in learning the mathematics needed for their lives and in having the opportunity to develop their own abilities with teachers who value those abilities.

Revised 10/16/06