Department of Mathematics

Associate Professor: Flores, Department Chair
Professor: Martin
Associate Professors: McCoun, Thornburg
Instructors: Alvarez, Bein, Dita, St Jean
Visiting Instructor: Horn

The mission of the department of mathematics is to:

Provide a foundation in mathematics that will prepare McMurry mathematics majors for a career or graduate school. We expect such students to be able to:
1. Communicate mathematical ideas in a written format.
2. Communicate mathematical ideas in an oral format.
3. Construct valid mathematical proofs.
4. Solve equations of various types.
5. Perform valid mathematical computations.
6. Use mathematical problem solving techniques.
7. Use mathematical modeling techniques.
8. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic tools of mathematics.
Provide mathematical course offerings that help other departments prepare their majors. We expect such students in these courses to be able to:
1. Solve equations of various types.
2. Perform valid mathematical computations.
3. Use mathematical problem solving techniques.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic tools of mathematics covered in the course.
Provide courses that are appropriate for the McMurry general education requirements. We expect students in the math portion of the general education to be able to do 3 of the following:
1. Be able to solve problems using the techniques from a specific discipline of mathematics.
2. Be able to set up and manipulate mathematical models. (Setting up a mathematical model involves taking a situation and describing it in mathematical terms. The mathematical description can then be manipulated to answer questions about the original situation.)
3. Demonstrate an understanding of abstract mathematical systems. (Abstract mathematical systems are systems that have been developed as a generalization of some area of mathematics.)
4. Be able to apply and symbolically manipulate mathematical functions (such as trigonometric functions).
5. Demonstrate an understanding of geometric interpretations of mathematical concepts. (This could be a study of shapes or the study of the impact of shapes to understand some underlying mathematical concept.)

Mathematics Placement

Students whose academic placement results indicate a need for pre-college development in mathematics must register for and continually enroll in the corresponding developmental course(s) until is it passed with a grade of Cor better. Once students have met this requirement, they must enroll in the corresponding academic course(s). Developmental courses begin with a 1, have a 0 as the second digit and a designator of “D” at the end of the course number. These courses are not college level and do not count towards hours used for graduation. They are calculated in the GPA and are used for semester creditload.

Special Programs and Opportunities:

Mathematics Club. The Mathematics Club is open to all students interested in mathematics. Activities might include programs of special interest, speakers, and field trips.

Kappa Mu Epsilon. This is a national honor society for students meeting the necessary academic requirements.

Departmental Awards. Each spring, awards are presented to outstanding students at the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior levels. An outstanding junior is awarded the Jennie Tate and the Clyde A. and Mary Long Scholarship to be used during the student’s senior year. An outstanding freshman, sophomore, or junior mathematics or mathematics education major is awarded the Paula McCoun Scholarship.

The Charles and Lisa Bloomer Research Stipend is a competitive award providing funding for any major from the School of Natural and Computational Sciences to support undergraduate research with a sponsoring faculty member during the fall/spring academic year. This program is administered by the Science and Mathematics Advisory Board.

William Lowell Putnam Competition A national competition held for students who are recommended by the mathematics faculty. This is held annually the first Saturday of December.

Departmental Honors. Please see the description of the McMurry University Honors Program under the Special Program section in the catalog.