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College of Sciences
Department of Mathematics

Old Committee Responsibilities – Please do not use this page

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 recrui​tment​, 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 (members invited by DGP)

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 (GPAC; members invited by DGP)

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 time per month, year-round, and be willing to provide timely and thorough feedback. 

Graduate Program

The committee reviews curriculum and degree requirement changes for the AMA and MA graduate programs, relevant course actions from the other programs and issues related to the quality and relevance of our graduate courses. The members annually select the winner(s) of the Winton-Rose award. This large committee represents the various groups in the department which are active in graduate education. Load: low; the committee conducts most of its business through email correspondence. Committee members should expect to be consulted a couple of times per academic 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.

Library Liaison

  1. 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.
  2. Maintains the John W. Cell Mathematics Library in the Department by continually seeking and collecting books critical to research endeavors in 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

Recommends faculty to the Department Head for nomination for (1) University and UNC system awards other than teaching awards, (2) fellowships in professional societies, and (3) other national and international awards.

Peer Teaching

  1. The committee chair is responsible for informing faculty that they are require 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 and Outreach Committee

Organizes, leads and promotes outreach activities for K-12 students, teachers and the general public.

Qualifying Exam Committee
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.

Teaching Enhancement

Responds to requests to attend classes of faculty and graduate students in order to evaluate their teaching.

Undergraduate Assessment

Collects and reviews data with the goal of improving the undergraduate program. 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 Undergraduate Programs in Math.

Undergraduate Course and Curriculum

In consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics, the committee advised 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 course 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.

Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards

The committee identifies Mathematic undergraduates who qualify for the departmental scholarships and senior awards, and selects the awardees. The committee meets two-three times a year.

Undergraduate Textbooks

Reviews texts written by NC State math faculty for use in mathematics courses, makes suggestions on content and language, and works with the authors to ensure that the texts are suitable for the courses. The committee seeks input from either the MUCC or the Undergraduate Non-Majors Committee, depending on whether the course is intended for math majors or for non-majors. Recommendations for approval or disapproval of the texts are made to the Department Head.

Web Page Liaison

Makes recommendations regarding issues that arise concerning the Department’s web site.

The 3+x Masters and Summer Program

Promotes international collaborations in mathematical sciences. The committee members recruit applicants, review applications, serve as faculty advisors to 3+x master students. The committee members also recruit summer academic program students, design and teach classes for the summer academic program, and participate summer academic program activities.