St. Paul, Minn. – Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Professor Karen Saxe will speak about “Mathematics and Social Justice,” when she gives her inaugural lecture as the DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science on Wed., Feb. 3, 2016, at 4:45 p.m. in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall, Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center.

Saxe joined the Macalester faculty in 1991 and served as chair of the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Department from 2007–2013. She teaches calculus, real analysis, complex analysis, functional analysis, and interdisciplinary courses on game theory and mathematics in politics.

Saxe was awarded the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) North Central Section’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the Macalester College Excellence in Teaching Award. She is a vice president of the MAA (2014–2016) and editor of the MAA’s Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library.

In Minnesota, Saxe has consulted with city governments and served as a resource on redistricting as well as on the Minnesota Citizens Redistricting Commission, created to draw congressional districts following the 2010 census.

On her most recent sabbatical, she worked in Washington, D.C., for Minnesota Senator Al Franken, serving as the 2013–2014 Science and Technology Policy Congressional Fellow and was sponsored by the American Mathematical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Saxe is currently principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project called, “A Common Vision for Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Programs in 2025,” examining curriculum and pedagogy for the first two years of college-level education in the mathematical sciences.

She recently joined the Board of Directors of Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics, which is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The initiative aims to effect constructive change in mathematics education at community colleges, four-year colleges, and research universities.

Saxe received her PhD and her MS from the University of Oregon, and her BA from Bard College.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 2,138 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu.

January 13 2016

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