By Gloria Hitchcock

As I begin my tenure as president, I want to recognize all of you who have worked for GMATYC before me. Your generous and committed service has made GMATYC an excellent professional organization. I especially thank Kim Robinson for her diligence and faithfulness to the many details of the presidency. Her hard work and her willingness to advise me during my first year continue to be a tremendous help to me.

As I reflect upon our purpose, I am committed to helping GMATYC expand its statewide representation. Our membership drive, initiated two years ago and continued by last year’s membership committee, was a good start. To continue growth, I encourage each member to talk to a colleague, who has not joined us, about becoming a member. Please remember that you are the best advertisement that we have.

As opportunities for service to both GMATYC and AMATYC become available, I will continue to use the Listserve to make them known to you. I am encouraged by the response that I have had thus far to my reqeusts for help. In last fall’s newsletter Kim made an appeal for members to get involved, and I second that appeal. Thank you to all who have already responded to that call. 

I believe that the GMATYC News is a perfect venue for promoting member involvement. To this end, I invite all members to submit articles to our editor, Sandee House. If your school is implementing a new program, if you have developed an innovative approach to teaching a particular topic, if you are excited about a new textbook and want to review it, we want provide a forum for you to share with your colleagues throughout the state. We are open to your ideas. This newsletter is a perfect means to help the mathematical community in Georgia recognize the superior quality of teaching of mathematics that exists among our members. Deadlines for submission of articles will be published in each newsletter and reminders will be sent to you by e-mail.

In order to serve you better, I am open your questions, concerns and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact me at ghitchco@gpc.peachnet.edu if you have an idea about how GMATYC can improve communication and collaboration among the post-secondary institutions throughout the state.

Finally, I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know many of you. May we work together to help this organization grow for the betterment of mathematics teaching in Georgia, for the benefit of our students and for our own professional development.
 
 

By Rob Kimball

It is an exciting time to be a mathematics educator! 

You’ve probably heard that said more than once recently. From the tone of the voice of the person who said it, you may have defined "exciting" somewhere between deeply discouraged to extremely enthusiastic. No matter where you stand, let me share some encouraging information regarding the activities of your professional organization, AMATYC.

The annual conference in Toronto was a success. This national conference provided an ideal setting for colleagues from around the nation to talk in small groups about important ideas, to share common concerns, as well as to participate in sessions and workshops of interest. If you missed the conference and want to review the proceedings of the conference, you can find it on the web site: www.amatyc.org. Information on the 2002 conference in Phoenix, Arizona is also there.

In addition to the national conference, the website provides information on the following topics.

• Summer Workshops. AMATYC is hosting two summer workshops this summer, one on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and one in Hawaii. 
• The Student Mathematics League. The results of the annual contest for two-year college students are available. 
• AMATYC Input Awards. Nominations are due May 15.
• The Job Board. Advertised positions are updated regularly.
• NSF awards. Links to additional information about both awards are available.
• CROSSROADS. You can download the original document or keep up with the progress of the project to revise Crossroads.

By Alice Eiko Pierce

First, I would like to thank Pat Zrolka, the outgoing chair of the Nominating Committee, for all of the time and effort she spent in putting together the 2002 slate of candidates and the election. It is no easy task to find nominees when everyone is stretched to their limits.

Ann Hardy and I would like to welcome the two new members of our committee – Betty Benardo of Georgia Perimeter College and Don Brown of Macon State. The nominating committee is committed to finding candidates from all over the state. For the 2003 election, we need nominees for President-Elect and 2 spots on the Nominating Committee. To find out what the jobs entail, go to the GMATYC web site www.gmatyc.org.

If we just had an election, why is Alice already bugging us about nominations for the 2003 elections? Because I want you consider running for a GMATYC office before you over-commit yourself for the 2002-2003 school year and because the position of President-Elect is too important to leave until the last minute. So many of you around the state probably have great ideas for GMATYC. You probably wish you had greater contact with your colleagues around the state. You wish we could do more for our students state-wide. There is so much talent and leadership potential out there in the GMATYC community. Please consider nominating yourself or encourage a colleague to run. The deadline for nominations is 60 days before the GMATYC business meeting in February (the exact date to be announced). To contact the Nominating Committee, email Alice Pierce (apierc2@gpc.edu), Betty Benardo (bbenardo@gpc.edu), Don Brown (dbrown@mail.maconstate.edu), or Ann Hardy (ahardy@gpc.edu).
 
 

The 13th annual meeting of the Georgia Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges was held in Clarkston, Georgia, on Friday, February 8^th, 2002 in conjunction with the GPC Mathematics Conference For complete minutes of this meeting, please visit www.gmatyc.org.
 
 

By Calandra Davis

The 15^th Annual Georgia Perimeter College Mathematics Conference was held for the first time on the Dunwoody campus on February 8 & 9, 2002. There were 139 participants from 34 institutions from the Southeast, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. This was the second largest participation the conference has seen since 1996. In the opening address, "Using the Past to Shape the Future," John Hornsby included numerous illustrations of how one could use mathematics history to enhance classroom discussion. 

A wide variety of sessions were offered this year including such topics as battling mathematics anxiety, utilizing computer software in mathematics instruction, mathematics for preservice teachers, and applications for differential equations. The GMATYC business meeting was held on Friday evening after dinner. There were approximately 70 persons in attendance. 

We look forward to next year’s GPC Mathematics Conference that is scheduled to be held again on the Dunwoody campus on February 7 – 8, 2003. We hope to see you there!
 
 

All GMATYC members are encouraged to attend the 28^th Annual AMATYC Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, November 14-17, 2002. The conference team is already predicting this will be the "A Perfect Conference." Besides attending exciting and informative presentations, workshops, etc., conference participants will be able to explore the Phoenix downtown area. The Arizona Center boasts many specialty stores, fine dining and nightclubs. Friday night's event will be at the Arizona Science Center. Four special tours are being planned, including a tour of the Grand Canyon which is located four hours north of Phoenix. Look for further information in upcoming editions of AMATYC News or contact the conference chair, Anne Dudley, at anne.dudley@gcmail.maricopa.edu.
 
 

By Ray Collings

With funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts and ExxonMobil Foundation to The Education Trust and Georgia State University, this national project was launched in 1997 to establish discipline-based standards for postsecondary student learning at participating four-year institutions and their feeder two-year colleges. Mathematics was one of the last disciplines to be added, so we have only been active since 2000. The other disciplines include biology, chemistry, physics, English, and history. There are ten partnerships in four states; two in each of California, Maryland, and Nevada. Of the four in Georgia, three only include mathematics.

We Georgians have had a combination of partnership meetings, state meetings, and national meetings in order to agree on standards aligned with assessments. Our goal in each 2/4 year institution pair is to provide coherence and quality in students transferring from 2-year to 4-year colleges and then graduating in mathematics or any other major with appropriate mathematics as part of their study too. Standards developed by the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges and the Mathematical Association of America have been used and adapted. Current consultants from the MAA include Susan Ganter and Bernie Madison, while Lynn Steen was our first consultant.

In the Georgia State/Georgia Perimeter Cluster, we have helped each other in a variety of ways. Georgia State established new departmental course objectives for all its freshman and sophomore courses, utilizing similar work that Georgia Perimeter had agreed with faculty from GPC’s six locations. Georgia Perimeter also shared experiences and outcomes from Introduction to Mathematical Modeling, which Georgia State just started using this academic year. GPC faculty learned of GSU expectations in junior level courses such as linear algebra. And we met on each other’s campuses, meeting new faculty and renewing established relationships.

There are several ways you can learn more of this QUE effort. First, each partnership has a mathematics coordinator. For Armstrong Atlantic State University/Coastal Georgia Community College, contact Jane Barnard barnarja@mail.armstrong.edu. At Fort Valley State University/Middle Georgia College, contact Alvina M. Johnson johnso25@mail.fvsu.edu. At Georgia State University/Georgia Perimeter College, contact rcolling@gpc.edu. Second, Ron Henry, Provost at Georgia State University, rhenry@gsu.edu is a principal leader in the project, and has established a QUE web site as www.gsu.edu/~wwwque/. 

GMATYC yearly dues remain at $5.00, a real bargain. Each membership is effective from annual meeting to annual meeting, thus the 2002 membership will expire in February, 2003.
 
 

At the annual GMATYC business meeting members voted to offer an optional lifetime membership effective at the annual 2003 business meeting. The cost for a lifetime membership will be fifteen times the annual dues.

Your affiliate is as strong as you make it. Stay involved by attending meetings, making presentations, reading journals and listserves, and writing articles for your newsletter. In addition, promote AMATYC among your colleagues. Use something AMATYC is doing to begin a conversation that may lead to improvements at your school. 

The budget in many states is going to make the coming year very difficult. You may be asked to "do more with less." If so, the support of your colleagues in your affiliate and in AMATYC will be very helpful. A strong affiliate can be a voice for you in your school and in your state.

Great things are happening in mathematics education and AMATYC is there working with you to improve undergraduate mathematics.

The GMATYC board members have been working diligently to make an accurate list of our members and to contact former members who have not renewed their membership. Additionally, the membership committee has a sent a reminder each of their contact people at Georgia's two-year colleges, technical colleges, four-year colleges, and universities, asking them to encourage any faculty who have not joined GMATYC to become a member. The membership list on the web will be current by June 1, 2002. Each member should check this page (http://www.gmatyc.org) for accuracy. If a member, who has paid the 2002 dues, is omitted from the list, he/she should contact Tom Wheeler at twheeler@canes.gsw.edu. 
 
 

We are now accepting articles and items of interest for the Fall 2002 newsletter. If you are doing something exciting at your school or if you received a promotion or other honor, please send an email to shouse@gpc.edu. In the subject line, please write "GMATYC NL FALL" The deadline for submission is August 30, 2002. Thanks for your participation.

By Beata Hebda

The winners of the individual competition were: 

First Place: Brandon Luders, Georgia Perimeter College, Sponsor: Iason Rusodimos

Second Place: Jung Kim, Georgia Perimeter College, Sponsor: Iason Rusodimos

Third Place: Kasia Hebda, Gainesville College, Sponsor: Beata Hebda, Piotr Hebda.

The winners of the team competition were:

First Place: Dalton State College Team 1, Sponsor: Randall Griffus and Geoff Poor, Members: Scott Camp, Alex Rivers, John Paul Ward.

Second Place: Gainesville College Team 1, Sponsor: Beata Hebda and Piotr Hebda, Members: Gavin Bacchus, Kasia Hebda, Steven Santilian, Elie Viviant.

Third Place: Georgia Perimeter College Dunwoody Team 3, Sponsor: Iason Rusodimos, Members: Janine Duplessis, Brandon Luders.

Many positive comments were received about the tournament and all participants had a very good time. Special thanks should go to the faculty and staff of Gainesville College for sponsoring the tournament, to the team sponsors and participating students, and to Dalton State College and Hiwassee College for being first time participants. 

The Gainesville College math tournament provides a forum for recognizing and rewarding our best and brightest math students, and the college is looking forward to sponsoring future tournaments. The next tournament will take place in April, 2003. Please check the web site 

http://www.gc.peachnet.edu/math/tournament 

for further details. 
 
 

The revision of AMATYC's publication Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for Introducting College Mathematics Before Calculus has begun. Dr. Greg Harrell, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia will be GMATYC's ARG (Association Review Group) representative. In this capacity, Greg will provide comments and feedback to the project leaders. Thank you, Greg, for your willingness to serve.
 
 

GCTM

Oct. 17-19, 2002, Rock Eagle, Eatonton, GA, Georgia Mathematics Conference 

ICTCM 

October 31 – November 3, 2002, Walt Disney Resort, Orlando, FL, 15^th Annual Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics

AMS

November 9-10, Orlando, FL, Fall Southeastern Section Meeting

Conference of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges

MAA and AMS

January 15-18, 2003, Baltimore, MD, Joint Mathematics Meetings

T^3

March 7-9, 2003, Nashville, TN, 15th Annual International T³ Conference

AMS

March 14-16, 2003 Baton Rouge, LA, Spring Southeastern Section Meeting

NCTM

April 9-12, 2003, San Antonio, TX, 81^st Annual Meeting
 
 

The GMATYC listserve will be updated in late May. In early June, a confirmation message will be sent to all members. If you do not receive this confirmation message, confirm your membership by contacting the GMATYC treasurer, Tom Wheeler, twheeler@canes.gsw.edu. If you have paid your membership dues but do not receive confirmation of your membership via the listserv message in early June, please contact the list manager, Sandee House, shouse@gpc.edu

We use our listserve to conduct GMATYC business when necessary and also to discuss ideas with our members around the state. When using the listserve, please remember that "reply" will send your message to all 100+ members around the state! If you wish to send a private reply, you will have to type the new address. To send a message to this list, send the mail to gmatyc@gpc.edu.
 
 

Congratulations to the following GMATYC members for their recent honors or promotions. 

Sandee House
Georgia Perimeter College
Mathematics Department
555 N. Indian Creek Drive
Clarkston, GA 30021