ORMATYC Fall 2002 News Letter

President's corner:

ORMATYC at work for you. . .

Mark your calendars for April 25-27, 2003.  It looks like it will be the best ORMATYC conference yet.  The conference planning team has Einstein coming on Thursday night to speak as well as lots of exciting sessions that should appeal to Mathematics Instructors at every level.

Gary Parker(BMCC), Tech Support and Webmaster, is working hard to keep the ORMATYC rooster current with web access for all our members.  In addition, he is working on an online voting procedure that would reduce the cost of mailings and streamline conference registration.  This includes putting the membership lists into a working file so that ORMATYC continues to be responsive to membership requests and questions.  This transition has been incredible and Gary has graciously given of his on leave time to make ORMATYC a viable organization that is current with the future.  Gary is working on sessions specific to Math for Elementary Teachers for the conference.

Mariah Beck(UCC), Treasurer, has been putting together all the information during the transition.  She has been managing your investments, putting our finances onto the computer using Quicken, transferring banking documents and keeping us all within the proposed budget. 

Betty Westfall and Judy de Szoeke(LBCC), Newsletter editors, have been working on pulling together all the latest from our members.  There are really exciting things happening around the state and the other departments are eager to share your news.  Keep us up to date by contacting them with news from your campus.

Virgina Somes(PCC) and Garrett Gregor(Clark College), Historians,  have been archiving information from the ORMATYC 2002 and are ready to get shots of your experiences at the meeting this spring in Lincoln City, April 25-27, 2003.

Becky Kimzey(RCC), Secretary, has kept track of what the organization has done this past year and is assisting with planning the conference.  She is working specifically on sessions that are directed at Developmental Mathematics for the conference.  If you have any ideas please let her know.

Dennis Kimzey(RCC), Past President, has helped establish a budget and is assisting with the conference planning.  He is responsible for putting together sessions for Statistics and  Calculus this year.  These sessions should really be interesting.

Frank Goulard(PCC) is coordinating the publishers that will be present at the conference as well as the social events in the evenings.  He is working to make the event represent the needs of mathematic departments in Oregon. 

Renae Weber(TVCC), President, has been in contact with the Inn at Spanish Head as well as securing Einstein to speak on Thursday night.  The sessions this year are really exciting and we have planned some activities to provide a chance to really dig into mathematics. She is working on sessions directed at Pre-Calculus level and Math 105.  If you have any ideas about what these sessions should address please let her know.

A quick note from the President. . . .

I attended the AMATYC conference as your representative which was a highlight of my fall quarter.  I am really proud of our organization, ORMATYC and believe that our group truly represents the best two year mathematics programs in America.  The representation and positions that are filled by Oregonians are incredible.  It made me proud to be an ORMATYC member.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president.  This has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have undertaken as a community college mathematics instructor.   AMATYC is a viable organization that truly is interested in mathematics and students.  It was exciting for me to see the impact each individual makes in shaping the direction of mathematics education and how closely tied ORMATYC is the ideals presented at the conference.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone April 25-27, 2003 at the Inn at Spanish Head. 

news from LBCC:

The LBCC math department has had to cut classes from all the terms this year to help balance the budget.  People who are retiring probably will not get replaced.  In the face of all of the cuts and reductions, we do have some good news!

LBCC has received a grant from NSF entitled Tech Scholars Program for approximately $99,000 per year for 4 years (assuming the grant is renewed each year).   Each year, $90K of that is for scholarships for students in engineering, math, and computer science.   Some of the goals of NSF are to provide scholarships and also to build community among these students, increase the quality of their experience, and to enable them to be more successful.  The deadline for application this year is January 31, 2003.  Contacts are Lynn Trimpe and Ron Mason in the Math Department, David Kidd in Engineering, and Dodi Coreson in Computer Science.

Linn-Benton Community College hosted its first Future Teachers Conference on Saturday, March 2, 2002.   The successful day-long conference was organized by and for education students and was designed to address their concerns and questions about a career in teaching and to help them make connections with practicing K-12 teachers.  Over 200 registrants attended that conference and their response was very positive.

Plans for LBCC's second Future Teachers Conference are progressing.  A dedicated planning team of students from LBCC, OSU, WOU, and LCC is hard at work putting together an exciting program for this year's conference, which will be held on the LBCC campus on Saturday, March 1, 2003.  Registration will start at 8:00 AM, and the conference will conclude at 4:00 PM.  Participants will be able to choose from a variety of sessions at four different time slots during the day.   Sessions will include offerings such as first-year teachers panels, tips on classroom management, surviving substitute teaching, and other topics of interest to prospective teachers.

For more information about LBCC's 2003 Future Teachers Conference, contact Lynn Trimpe at (541) 917 – 4750 or at trimpel@linnbenton.edu.

news from COCC:

Greetings from Central Oregon,

As the holidays approach, COCC, finds itself struggling, because of budgetary woes to maintain its programs, faculty, and course offerings. Campus-wide, seven faculty members have already been issued pink slips and roughly half dozen programs have been identified for potential furloughing.

Fortunately, our math department remains intact.  Some of our department concerns are finding room for the increasing number of students coming to COCC, working with antiquated computers with no capital funds in the foreseeable future, and trying to maintain our professional growth when professional development funds have been frozen.

However, we are all healthy and busy with our projects.  Mike Sequeira continues his outstanding leadership as chair of this motley crew.  Charlie Naffziger and Doug Nelson presented at the AMATYC conference in Phoenix and even with the awkward presentation time of 8:00 am on Sunday, about 25 people attended their presentation.  Julie Keener and Kathy Smith continue to try to make sense of the requirements our education majors must satisfy in order to become licensed classroom teachers.  Franz Helfenstein is still working on the Tech Math curriculum, Becky Plassmann is taking the leadership role in the first year Calculus sequence, Monte Cheney continues to play in his statistical world, and Jack McCown sits in his corner office and lends his patriarchal advise to anyone who is willing to listen.  Finally, we are also working with local high school counselors to appropriately place students who are enrolling in COCC mathematics courses.

Therefore, in the next couple of years, this department will continue to deliver instruction at the highest possible level while working with, and wrestling over, the recent obstacles before us. 

THE END