Department of Mathematics and Statistics - Bowling Green State Univeristy
Message from the Chair
A significant occurrence for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics last year was the renaming of the Mathematical Sciences Building. To recognize the generous donation from Mitchell B. McLeod to BGSU and Mathematics, the university retitled the Mathematical Sciences Building, which was opened in 1970, as Mitchell B. McLeod Hall. The dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Many faculty members in the department were present and witnessed the moment. The representative of all students in the department, Ms. Peyton E. Dolejs, a senior in mathematics specializing in actuarial science, gave a speech. She expressed appreciation to Mitchell B. McLeod, math faculty, and university who have supported the math students’ success.
Another occurrence worth mentioning was the restructuring of the university last year. The College of Education and Human Development (EDHD) was restructured from 5 schools to 3 schools: School of Applied Human Development, School of Inclusive Teacher, and School of Counseling, Higher Ed, Leadership & Foundation; the College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering (CTAAE) was restructured to include the School of Aviation and School of Engineering (more details in https://www.bgsu.edu/its/projects/it-project-gains/edhd-techrestructure.html). These restructurings result in updated curricula in their programs. Since the department covers math courses for EDHD and CTAAE, the update of their curricula affects need in math teaching. For example, one related change in CTAAE to our department went with more requirements in calculus courses, indicating more demands on foundational teaching from our department. To coordinate with these new needs, the department has put in additional effort to provide high quality math teaching for students in EDHD and CTAAE.
Under the instruction of the College of Arts and Sciences, the department spent time creating a workload policy last year. With the goal of making a document which can deliver a framework for clean, transparent, equitable, and appropriate flexible workload assignments, the Advisory Committee of the department has discussed and generated a layout of the workload policy. Based on the framework, the faculty have reviewed and met numerous times to revise it. As a result, the discussion has modified and enhanced the practicability and applicability of the current draft of the workload policy.
Led by the Dean, Dr. Ellen Schendel, the Math Emporium faculty has reformed the teaching structure of college algebra since last year. Each section has been capped with a smaller number of students, the classroom layout was changed to better accommodate active learning, and a divider wall was extended to create a small learning space. Exams were replaced with comprehensive knowledge checks (CKCs) to measure course mastery. The Math Emporium faculty, led by the outgoing Director, Ms. Michelle Heckman, worked with the Center for Faculty Excellence and Drs. Kim Rogers and David Meel of the department to create active learning activities covering most sections of the textbook paired with ALEKS and expanded professional development activities. Ensured learning outcomes were matched to learning activities and assessments. Open Lab (OLab) was used for 5 days a week to provide assistance to students outside of their class time. In Spring 2024, the performance of students in the college algebra course was much improved based on the grading data.
To support student success, the department sponsors regular meeting events for graduate and undergraduate students. Led by the Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Benjamin Ward, the graduate students met monthly and discussed the challenges that they faced in coursework, research, and teaching, through which the graduate students have learned many strategies and approaches for studying and teaching from each other. Doing so has facilitated the graduate students to interact well with each other. These interactions align with the university’s strategic and foundational objectives. The Undergraduate Committee, led by the Coordinator, Dr. Mihai Staic, held “Meet the Faculty” monthly. In these meetings, faculty presented her/his own story about studying for degrees and pursuing careers. Student attendees had a question/answer opportunity with faculty in each of these events. Many students remarked on how they loved to communicate with faculty and listen to their stories, which would benefit their choices in life.
In the past academic year, the department invited colloquium and seminar speakers to give in-person talks in which the faculty and graduate students enjoyed such academic communications and collaborations.
We are very excited to welcome two new hires in Fall 2024, Drs. Douglas Bujakowski and Ju Youn Bae. Dr. Douglas Bujakowski works as an associate professor with tenure. He will teach and supervise the students in actuarial science. Dr. Bujakowski will play an important role in revising the curriculum for actuarial science and in collaborating with insurance and risk management in the Schmidthorst College of Business. Dr. Ju Youn Bae works as an assistant teaching professor, teaching college algebra at the Math Emporium.
Congratulations to Dr. Kim Rogers for promotion to professor, Dr. Benjamin Ward for tenure and promotion to associate professor, Michelle Heckman for promotion to teaching professor, and Dr. Francine Zhang for promotion to associate teaching professor.
A new semester of 2024-2025 has started. The faculty members of the department are ready for new tasks. As always, we will continuously provide quality math teaching for students across the campus!
Dr. Junfeng Shang, Professor and Chair
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
BGSU Math and Stats Faculty News
Math and Stats Faculty Attended Promotion and Tenure Reception of 2024
Four faculty members of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Drs. Kimberly Rogers, Benjamin Ward, and Francine Zhang, and Ms. Michelle Heckman attended the Promotion and Tenure Reception on May 3, 2004, at BTSU. The chair of the department, Dr. Junfeng Shang, was present along with her colleagues to support such memorable achievements in their academic career. The Board of Trustees meeting was at 1:30 p.m., and these four faculty members were formally presented to and approved by the board. Again, congratulations to these four faculty members for their important milestones! (The attached photo was taken at the reception.)
Math and Stats Faculty Completed ACUE Course
Congratulations to Drs. Kimberly Morgan, Daria Filippova, Kimberly Rogers, and Francine Zhang, and Ms. Sandra Zirkes for the completion of the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Course in Effective Teaching Practices! This is a big commitment to teaching and learning for our faculty.
The 25-week ACUE course provides our faculty an opportunity to explore evidence-based teaching practices that are designed to improve student success, student achievement, and close equity gaps. The ACUE course is organized into five major areas of practice: 1) Designing an Effective Course, 2) Establishing a Productive Learning Environment, 3) Using Active Learning Strategies, 4) Promoting Higher Order Thinking, and 5) Assessing to Inform Instruction and Promote Learning.
The Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) and Office of the Provost invited the faculty to celebrate their accomplishments at a pinning ceremony in room 210 at the BTSU on September 20, 2023. The math and stats faculty in the attached photo attended the ceremony and received the certificate and pin.
Five Math and Stats Faculty Recognized in 2024 for Service
Each spring, our annual Service Awards Ceremony recognizes BGSU faculty and staff for their length of service to the University. On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the BTSU, the Office of Human Resources in partnership with the Office of the Provost facilitated the annual Service Awards program and the ceremony which recognized BGSU employees for their length of service to the University. Awards are provided in five-year increments, beginning with the fifth year of regular service. In the ceremony, the President and the Provost each gave a talk to celebrate with the service awardees. Five faculty members in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics were recognized: Ann Darke (20 years), Irina Franke (15 years), Michelle Heckman (25 years), J. Gordon Wade (30 years), and Francine Zhang (5 years). Michelle and Francine attended the reception.
Congratulations to the service awardees in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for your service milestone!
Retirements
Dr. Hanfeng Chen
Hanfeng Chen retired in June of 2024 after 34 years of service to the department and the university. In 1990, after earning his PhD in statistics from University of Wisconsin-Madison, he joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Bowling Green State University. Dr. Hanfeng Chen had been the Department Chair from 2015-2019. During that time, he significantly contributed to the department’s service and development. As a prestigious teacher and researcher in statistics, he covered courses and supervised graduate students for the statistics programs.
J. Gordon Wade
J. Gordon Wade retired in June of 2024 after 31 years of service to the department and the university. In 1993, after working as postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M University, he joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Bowling Green State University. Dr. J. Gordon Wade had been the department Assistant Chair from 2003-2007. During that time, he scheduled teaching assignments and supported the departmental service. His research field was in applied mathematics and covered courses for the program specialized in actuarial science.
Math and Stats Faculty Attended ArtsX at BGSU
The group from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, spearheaded by Dr. Daria Filippova, took part in ArtsX, the BGSU arts showcase, on December 2, 2023, to demonstrate how arts are used in mathematics, and how mathematics is very artistic. Faculty members, Dr. David Meel, Ms. Ann Darke, Dr. Daria Filippova, together with graduate student Dr. Aleksei Luchinsky in data science and BGSU alumnus (May 2023) Kristina Roberts presented mathematical art in various forms: digital, painting, graphics, painted glass, fabric, and interactive activities. The exhibition "Art in Mathematics" was well attended with many adults and children participating in activities and learning about mathematics through the arts. The exhibited art works produced by the math attendees are shown in the attached pictures.
Morgan holds Carnival Day in Teaching Math on Thursday, April 18, 2024
Dr. Kimberly Morgan created the MATH 1190 Carnival Day two years ago. The main goal of the Carnival Day is to apply the learned knowledge from MATH 1190 into real-life applications. Through doing the Carnival project, students have an opportunity to put the probability skills learned in class to good use in a fun and engaging way. Student groups prepare games for each member of the class to play in order to win play money. While they are playing, they also vote for the best game. At the end, the top three money winners and the creators of their favorite game receive prizes. Dr. Kimberly Morgan has noticed that through working on the project, students are more engaged in the probability they learn in class, and they work hard to create games that students enjoy. Dr. Morgan also thoroughly enjoys putting on the Carnival project for the students and helping them end the semester with an event that both teaches them probability and helps them have a little fun. Receiving positive feedback from the students’ active involvement, Dr. Morgan hopes to continue Carnival Day for years to come.
BGSU Math and Stats Students Awarded
Students Attended and Awarded 2024 at DataFest Competition
BGSU Data Science team, The Derivative Falcons, triumphed in the 2024 DataFest competition which took place at Miami University. Out of 19 competition teams representing seven institutions, the team won the Best Visualization award.
DataFest, a weekend-long Data Hackathon endorsed by the American Statistical Association, took place from April 5th to April 7th at the newly opened McVey Data Science Building on the main campus of the Miami University. In total, 19 teams of 3-5 undergraduates representing 7 regional universities and colleges delved into a large, intricate dataset to uncover meaningful insights. They received assistance from their faculty mentors and "roving consultants", and enjoyed plentiful food, snacks, and caffeine provided by the Center for Analytics and Data Science. At the event's conclusion on Sunday, top teams were awarded cash prizes in the categories of “Best Visualization”, “Best Insight”, and “Top Score” as judged by a panel of industry experts. Led by Dr. Umar Islambekov in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the BGSU team, “The Derivative Falcons”, with members Chien Tran Phuoc (math, data science), Connor Harrison (math, data science), Dylan Van Horn (CS, computational data science) won the Best Visualization award.
Congratulations to The Derivative Falcons for a beautiful job!
New Graduate Student Awarded Presidential Scholar Fellowship
Congratulations to our new graduate student, PhD in statistics, Yahang Zheng for being awarded the 2024 Presidential Graduate Scholar Fellowship. There was an exceptional pool of applicants for this competitive award. Her submission materials demonstrated her scholarly promise as a doctoral student, as well as her commitment to inclusion, belonging, and access initiatives on campus and her future career. Yahang has accepted this fellowship and joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in Fall 2024. The Presidential Graduate Scholar Fellowship provides a one-year, full time instructional tuition scholarship and a one-time refundable scholarship of $7500. The tuition scholarship portion is for instructional tuition only.
Math and Stats Department Scholarships and Awards in 2024
Graduate Excellence in Teaching
- Harrison Rouse
- Nicholas Long
- Ayako Carter
- Caleb Khaemba
- Channelle Lyons
Outstanding Seniors
- Connor Harrison
- Mallory Kochanek
- Kaleb Wourms
- Abigail Gilfillen
8th Edition BGSU Competition
Beginner section
- Oluwatimilehin Ikusika
- Lavender Moraa
- Ella Boyce
Advanced section
- Ardan Carlisle
- Matthew Fyfe
- Ethan Riddell
- Kayla Fruth
Undergraduate Scholarships
Humphrey Fong Distinguished Undergraduate/Math
- Heather Baden
- Kojak Valentine
- Alyssa Khoury
Frank C. and Florence S. Ogg Memorial Scholarship
- Kolin Atwood
- Ryan Otto
- Alexandria Levicki
- Marco Abbo
- Anh “Daniel” Nguyen
Kenneth B. Cummins Scholarship
- Nathaniel Meade
- Griffin Salyer
- Amelia Dennis
- Greenlee Thacker
- Matthew Warren
John L. and William and Maxine Hayden Award
- Kyla Oswalt
- Andrew Howard
- Jack Nordahl
- Trent Teman
- Jadyn Lehmkuhl
- Ella Luscombe
J. Robert and Gretchen Overman Scholarship Award
- Levi Houck
- Isaac Avila
- Cole Hitchcock
- Jacob Haines
- Ethan Riddell
- Cadence Litteral
Anna N. Gryting Mathematics Scholarship
- Jack Campbell
- Zachary Moll
Graduate Scholarships
Judyta and Bronislaw Blass Memorial Fellowship
- Bradley Shearer
Eugene and Elizabeth Lukacs Scholarship
- Jason Turk
- Channelle Lyons
J. Robert and Gretchen Overman Scholarship
- Sarah Gakii
- Christopher Kuetsinya
- Naiyue “Emma” Liang
- Madeline Reeves
- Eric Montoya
- Abraham Orinda
- Daniel Sasu
Updated: 10/10/2024 02:28PM