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College of Sciences
Department of Mathematics

Committee Responsibilities

Biomathematics
The committee reviews application files for the biomath program, organizes and participates in the recruitment activities. Members are appointed by the Director of the Biomathematics Graduate Program from amongst the biomathematics graduate faculty.

Computing
Advises the Head and Associate Head on all matters related to computing.

Financial Mathematics
The committee helps the Financial Mathematics Program director with student recruitment, curriculum development and review, program assessment and industry outreach. Members are appointed by the Director of the Financial Mathematics Program from amongst the financial mathematics graduate faculty.

Graduate Admission
The committee reviews and ranks incoming applications to our graduate programs. Committee members also advise the Director of Graduate Programs on potential recipients of internally funded fellowships for incoming students. Load: high from mid-January and to mid-February (5 hours per week); committee members are expected to electronically review hundreds of applications in a timely manner. The committee meets a couple of times in the Spring Semester.

Graduate Program Advisory
The committee advises the Director of Graduate Programs (DGP) and the Graduate Programs Administrator (GPA) on the strategic planning, recruitment, retention, program quality and outcomes. In addition to the DGP and GPA, the committee is comprised of four members, two with interests in the AMA program and two with interests in the MA program. Load: medium; the committee conducts its business mostly through email correspondence. Committee members should expect to be consulted a couple of times per month, year-round, and be willing to provide timely and thorough feedback.

Graduate Recruitment
The members of the committee engage in graduate recruiting events and must commit to attend some of the recruiting events organized by the Department such as the Virtual Open House in the Fall, the in person recruitment weekend in February, and the virtual visit day in late March/Early April.  Members should also be available for in person or virtual meetings with prospective students throughout the year.

Honors
Honors Committee members are responsible for advising undergraduates who have been invited into the Mathematics Honors Program. The committee also decides program requirements and policies and ensures that they meet NC State guidelines for departmental and college
honors programs.

International Programs
The committee pertains to international collaborations in mathematical sciences. It also works on international agreements and the international visibility and reputation of the department.

Library Liaison
Serves as the liaison between the Department and University Libraries by conveying needs or concerns of Mathematics faculty to the staff of University Libraries and relaying information about development and services of the Libraries back to the Department.

Mathematics Distinguished Lecture Series
Organizes the annual Kwangil Koh Lecture on Mathematics in Our Time. Selects colloquium speakers from nominations by the faculty.

Nomination and Awards
Makes recommendations for nominations to the Department Head for faculty and staff awards and fellowships in professional societies.

Peer Teaching
Duties include

  1. The committee chair is responsible for informing faculty that they are required to obtain peer reviews of their teaching.
  2. A faculty member finds a peer who is willing to carry out a peer review.
  3. The faculty member proposes the peer to the chair of the committee.
  4. The committee members approve/disapprove the proposal.
  5. The peer observes the faculty’s lectures and reports on strengths and needed improvements to the faculty and the department.

Publicity, Communication, and Alumni Relations
The committee creates and maintains department-wide social media and develops other methods of department/alumni community-building.

Qualifying Exam
Members are the main instructors of a qualifying exam sequence. Duties are to

  1. write the qualifying exam for their sequence, possibly both in January and in August
  2. seek feedback on the exam from previous instructors
  3. serve as lead grader and identify a second grader; if none can be found, one will be designated by the DGP
  4. proctor the exam, make copies and share with the second grader for independent grading, finalize the results with the second grader
  5. report the agreed upon grades (pass/fail) for each student; the DGP should be made aware of possible disagreements; if the disagreement might result in a student failing out of the program, the case will be reviewed by the qualifying exam committee, otherwise, the grade from the lead grader is forwarded
  6. answer questions from students about their own exam(s) after they receive their results.

Student Awards 
The committee identifies mathematics undergraduates who qualify for the departmental scholarships and senior awards, and selects the awardees. The members annually solicit nominations for, and select the graduate student winners of, the Winton-Rose award, and the Norris-Griggs-Franke Awards for research, teaching and service. The committee meets three-four times each year.

TA Teaching Enhancement Committee
Members on this committee participate in the new graduate student orientation by observing and providing feedback on short teaching demonstrations. They are also available to observe TAs during the semester upon request.

Undergraduate Advising
The advising committee members are responsible for advising all math undergraduates. The faculty advisors are expected to conduct advising appointments with each advisee at least once a semester, and to communicate promptly with students, responding to questions and requests throughout the semester. In addition, the math advisors together with the DUP will identify and implement strategies, processes, and practices to enhance advising service delivery, as well as create and maintain a resource webpage with advising content.

Tenure-track and tenured faculty advisors are expected to advise approximately 15 students at any given time, while the professional track faculty advisors are expected to advise between 20- 40 students depending on other departmental administrative responsibilities. The committee is expected to meet once a semester before the start of the enrollment period, early October and early March

Graduate and Undergraduate Assessment
Collects and reviews data with the goal of improving the graduate and undergraduate programs. By engaging in an ongoing assessment of the Department’s student learning outcomes, the committee is able to suggest evidence-based improvements to courses and to the program as a whole. The committee is generating the Annual Assessment Report for the Graduate and Undergraduate Programs in Math.

Undergraduate Course and Curriculum
In consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics, the committee advises the Department Head on matters related to undergraduate mathematics course and curriculum proposals; develops guidelines and conducts periodic reviews of undergraduate math courses; in consultation with the Department Head, develops policies and procedures related to the undergraduate math curriculum.

The committee is also responsible for liaison between the Mathematics Department and other departments on campus regarding undergraduate math courses. Programs that require math courses in their curricula are encouraged to contact members of this committee with any issue or concern regarding content or delivery of the courses.

Undergraduate Math Competitions
The committee identifies appropriate math competitions for undergraduates (e.g. Virginia Tech Contest, Putnam Competition, the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling etc.), advertises, and recruits interested students. The committee members mentor/train students, give lectures to the Putnam class (MA 444) on common problem-solving techniques. Finally, the committee organized informal discussions about math competitions with potentially interested students.

Undergraduate Recruitment
The members of the committee engage in undergraduate recruiting events and must commit to attend some of the recruiting events organized by the Department or the College of Sciences such as Open House in the Fall, the Visitation Day in the Spring, and the New Student Orientation in July.

Web Page Liaison
Makes recommendations regarding issues that arise concerning the department’s website.