Department History - Notable Facts

Begun July 2012 by Richard Delaware
[Please send corrections or additional information to delawarer@umkc.edu.]

On This Page:

Department Milestones Department Chairs Famous Visiting Professors UM Curators' Professors UM Thomas Jefferson Award Deans NCTM President Professional Meetings Held at KCU/UMKC	Mathematics Master's Degrees Awarded 1950-1962 (most with thesis-option) Winter 1963 - Spring 2012 Mathematics Ph.D.s Awarded Interdisciplinary Ph.D.s (Coord. Discipline: Mathematics) Awarded Mathematics Clubs/Societies Mathematics Films or Videos Faculty-Written Books

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Department Milestones Fall 1933 - Spring 2003

1. October 2, 1933: The University of Kansas City (KCU) opens, and
   the Department of Mathematics begins.

2. September, 1947: The Mathematics Master's degree is first offered.

3. 1950: The first Mathematics Master's degrees are awarded.

4. July 25, 1963: The University of Kansas City becomes
   the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC)

5. September, 1967: The Mathematics Ph.D. degree is first offered.

6. 1968: The first Mathematics Ph.D. degree is awarded.

7. 1970-1977: The department reaches its
   historical maximum number of fulltime faculty: 20-21.

8. 1995: The department name is changed to the
   "Department of Mathematics and Statistics".

9. 2000: The first Interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree
   with Coordinating Discipline "Mathematics" is awarded.

10. 2002: The last Mathematics Ph.D. degree (non-Interdisciplinary) is awarded.

11. Spring 2003: After a large Dec. 2002 group retirement, the
    number of fulltime faculty is reduced to: 6, the lowest number since 1955.
    (2 tenured, 2 tenure-track, 2 non-tenure-track)

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Department Chairs Fall 1933-present

1. 1933-1946: William A. Luby

2. 1946-1951: Joseph S. Rosen
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

3. 1951-1961: Maria Castellani

4. 1961-1966: Bennie J. Pearson
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

5. 1966-1986: Paul W. Liebnitz, Jr.
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

6. 1986-1991: G. Phillip Barker
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

7. 1991-1992: Roger Carlson
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

8. 1992- Dec. 2002: Bruce R. Wenner
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

9. 2003- early 2004: Bruce R. Wenner (Half-time)
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

10. Early 2004-2005: Bruce Bubacz (Department of Philosophy) Interim Chair

11. 2005-2007: Kamel Rekab
    [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

12. 2007-2008: Zhonghua Peng (Department of Chemistry) Interim Chair

13. 2008-2014: Jie Chen
    [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

14. 2014-2015: Yong Zeng
    [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

15. 2016-present: Eric Hall
    [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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Famous Visiting Professors (VPs)
from the KCU VP Program 1937-1953

1. Fall 1942 (two months): Eric Temple Bell
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

2. 1946-1947: Maria Castellani
   

3. 1947-1948: Enrico Bompiani
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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University of Missouri System
Curators' Professors

1. 1978-1983: Yudell L. Luke - Mathematics
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

2. 1987-1993: Shirley A. Hill - Education
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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University of Missouri System
Thomas Jefferson Award

1. 1974: Norman N. Royall, Jr.
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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Deans

1. 1947-1953 Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences: Norman N. Royall, Jr.
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

2. 1964-1965 Acting Dean of the School of Education: Shirley A. Hill
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM) President

1. 1978-1980: Shirley A. Hill
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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Professional Mathematics or Statistics Meetings
Held at KCU/UMKC

1. April 23, 1948: Mathematical Association of America - Missouri Section Annual Meeting
   Organized by: Joseph S. Rosen
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

2. April 22, 1955: Mathematical Association of America - Missouri Section Annual Meeting
   Organized by: Maria Castellani

3. March 30-31, 1979: Mathematical Association of America - Missouri Section Annual Meeting
   Organized by: Yudell L. Luke
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

4. May 29 - June 2, 1982: Summer Symposium in Real Analysis
   Organized by: James M. Foran
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

5. Oct. 16, 2006: Fall Meeting of the Kansas Western-Missouri Chapter of the American Statistical Association
   Organized by: Kamel Rekab
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

6. Oct. 2009 - present (annual): Kansas City Mathematics Technology EXPO
   Organized by: Richard Delaware
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]

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Department Mathematics Ph.D.s Awarded
1968-2002: 29 total
[Before the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program]

1. 1968 Gary G. Miller Advisor: Bennie J. Pearson

2. 1970 Elizabeth Berman (Appelbaum) Advisor: Thomas P. Kezlan
3. 1971 H. S. Gopalakrishna Advisor: Shri Krishna Singh
4. 1971 Larry Sherwood Advisor: Shri Krishna Singh
5. 1973 Robert Kennedy Advisor: Elbert M. Pirtle, Jr.
6. 1973 Sangappa Sarangi Advisor: Shri Krishna Singh
7. 1973 John T. Sieben Advisor: Shri Krishna Singh
8. 1973 James W. Walker Advisor: Bruce R. Wenner
9. 1974 Shivalingappa Malghan Advisor: Bruce R. Wenner
10. 1976 Anand Singh Advisor: G. Phillip Barker
11. 1976 Joseph Simone Advisor: Bennie J. Pearson
12. 1976 Barbara Currier Advisor: Thomas P. Kezlan
13. 1977 Ross J. Sanders Advisor: Bennie J. Pearson
14. 1977 John Berg Advisor: Shri Krishna Singh
15. 1979 Bing-Yuan Ting Advisor: Yudell L. Luke
16. 1979 David John Advisor: Bennie J. Pearson

17. 1981 Joyce Conklin Advisor: G. Phillip Barker
18. 1981 Marilyn H. Kemp Advisor: G. Phillip Barker
19. 1982 Norbil Davila Advisor: G. Phillip Barker
20. 1982 Russell Euler Advisor: Yudell L. Luke
21. 1985 Sandra K. "Alex" Thompson Advisor: G. Phillip Barker
22. 1986 Sandra Meinershagen Advisor: James M. Foran
23. 1986 Tan Tran Advisor: James M. Foran
24. 1989 Shing So Advisor: Bennie J. Pearson

25. 1990 Lee Hart Advisor: James M. Foran
26. 1997 Judit Kardos Advisor: James M. Foran
27. 1997 Tristan Londre Advisor: Noah Rhee

28. 2000 Richard Delaware Advisor: James M. Foran
29. 2002 Charles Smith Advisor: Thomas P. Kezlan

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Department Interdisciplinary Ph.D.s
with Coordinating Discipline "Mathematics" Awarded
2000-2016: 10 total

1. 2000 Rickey Silvey Advisor: Noah Rhee
2. 2000 Mustafa Akkurt Advisor: G. Phillip Barker
3. 2003 Alietia Caughron Advisor: James M. Foran
4. 2006 Laurie Scott Advisor: Yong Zeng
5. 2012 Paul Plummer Advisor: Jie Chen
6. 2013 Wei Wu Advisor: Kamel Rekab
7. 2014 Justin Hoffmeier Advisor: Liana Sega
8. 2014 Jianfeng Meng Advisor: Jie Chen
9. 2015 Qian Li Advisor: Yong Zeng
10. 2016 Melissa Menning Advisor: Liana Sega

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Mathematics Clubs/Societies

1. 1936, 1937, 1944: Delta X [Sources: KCU Yearbooks]
   Organized by: Daniel T. Sigley
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]
   and William A. Luby

2. 1959-1960: Mathematics Society [Sources: KCU Yearbooks]

3. 2014-present:
   Mathematics Club
   Mathematics & Statistics Graduate Student Organization (MSGSO)

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Mathematics Films or Videos

1. 1961: Norman N. Royall, Jr.
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]
   Series of 49 films on mathematics (30 min. each; total of 24.5 hours) for the United States Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) in Madison, WI, for use on US military bases around the world. Provided lectures for principal topics in correspondence courses for: College Algebra (20), Trigonometry (21), and the Slide Rule (8). [Distributed commercially by Modern Learning Aids Division of Modern Talking Pictures for use at the 12th and 13th grade levels.]

2. 1990-1992: James M. Foran
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]
   Series of 10 Calculus I videos (about 20 hours),
   8 Calculus II videos (about 16 hours), and
   8 Calculus III videos (about 16 hours)
   [See List]
   Posted on the UMKC YouTube Channel in 2012-2013.

3. 1998, 2005: Richard Delaware
   [Mathematics Genealogy Project Entry]
   College Algebra (1998; about 43 hours), and
   Calculus I (2005; about 28 hours)
   Posted on the UMKC YouTube Channel in May 2009.

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Faculty-Written Mathematics Books

1. William A. Luby, et al., as Head of the Department of Mathematics in the Junior College of Kansas City:
   1. 1909, First Course in Algebra, 1917 Preface, Contents, (with Herbert E. Hawkes, and Frank C. Touton); revised 1910, 1917
   2. 1911, Second Course in Algebra, (with Herbert E. Hawkes, and Frank C. Touton); revised 1918
   3. 1922, Solid Geometry, (with Herbert E. Hawkes, and Frank C. Touton)
   4. 1926, New Second Course in Algebra, Preface, Contents, (with Herbert E. Hawkes, and Frank C. Touton)
   5. 1929, Plane Geometry, (with Herbert E. Hawkes, and Frank C. Touton)

2. Daniel T. Sigley, et al., while at Kansas State College (which later became Kansas State University):
   1. 1942, Solid Geometry and Mensuration, (with William T. Stratton); revised 1947, 1956
   2. 1948, Plane Geometry, (with William T. Stratton); revised 1958

3. Donald E. Kibbey, et al., while at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY:
   1. 1943, Differential Equations, (with Harry W. Reddick); revised 1949, 1956

4. William E. Hartnett, while at Harvard University:
   1. 1963, Principles of Modern Mathematics
   2. 1964, An Introduction to the Fundamental Concepts of Analysis

5. Norman N. Royall, Jr.:
   1. 1963, Modern College Algebra with an Introduction to Analytic Geometry
   2. 1970, Analytic Geometry
   3. 1971, Structural College Algebra and Finite Mathematics

6. Yudell L. Luke:
   1. 1962, Integrals of Bessel Functions
   2. 1969, The Special Functions and Their Approximations
   3. 1975, Mathematical Functions and Their Approximation
   4. 1977, Algorithms for the Computation of Mathematical Functions

7. Shirley A. Hill, et al.:
   1. 1964, First Course in Mathematical Logic (with Patrick Suppes)
   2. 1970, Elementary Geometry, (with Vincent Haag and Clarence Hardgrove)

8. Roger A. Carlson:
   1. 1973, Statistics

9. G. Phillip Barker, et al.:
   1. 1968, Matrices and Linear Algebra, (with Hans Schneider)

10. James M. Foran:
    1. 1991, Fundamentals of Real Analysis
    2. 1995, 2015 (Amazon) Trigonometry with a Review of Geometry and Algebra, (with Sandra Meinershagen)

11. Jie Chen, et al.:
    1. 2000, Parametric Statistical Change Point Analysis, (with A. K. Gupta)

12. Kamel Rekab, et al.:
    1. 2005, Statistical Design of Experiments with Engineering Applications, (with Muzaffar Shaikh)

13. Yong Zeng Editor, et al.:
    1. 2013, State-Space Models: Applications in Economics and Finance, (edited with Shu Wu)

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