Beverly Anderson

Beverly Jacques Anderson (born September 10, 1943) is an American mathematician and emeritus professor at the University of the District of Columbia. In the 1990s she worked at the National Academy of Sciences as Director of Minority Programs for the Mathematical Sciences Education Board, and led the Making Mathematics Work for Minorities program.

Beverly J. Anderson
Born (1943-09-10) September 10, 1943
New Orleans
Alma materDillard University
Howard University
Catholic University of America
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of the District of Columbia
National Academy of Sciences

Early life and education

Anderson grew up in the 7th Ward of New Orleans in a time of segregation.[1] She was born to Alvin Joseph and Dorothy Ann, who never finished high school.[2][3] Anderson attended Valena C. Jones Normal School, an elementary school.[4] She attended a high school for African-Americans, where she excelled in mathematics.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Dillard University. She was the first member of her family to leave New Orleans when she moved to Howard University for graduate school.[3] She completed a PhD at the Catholic University of America in 1978.[5]

Research and career

Anderson was appointed a Professor of Mathematics at the University of the District of Columbia in 1969.[6] She was awarded one of the faculty awards from the White House Initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.[7] She took a leave of absence to join the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 1988, where she launched the Making Mathematics Work for Minorities program.[8][9] The program had three aims: to attract national attention to the need for minority students in mathematics, to identify best practice in mathematics education for minority students and develop a national strategy and alliance to improve mathematics education.[8] She ran a series of workshops around the country, sharing ideas about how to help minorities excel in mathematics.[10] Anderson argued that teaching mathematics without acknowledging the cultural bias that favoured students aligned with European tradition could significantly disadvantage people of colour.[11]

Anderson identified that minority students enrolled in two-year college programs were 20% less likely to earn a bachelor's degree than those who started in four-year programs.[12] She emphasized that school mathematics programs needed to be maintained long-term, for magnet schools to support the teaching profession and for comprehensive four-year college programs.[13]

In her 40-year career at the University of the District of Columbia, Anderson was a Professor of Mathematics, Mathematics Department Chair, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She was made Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs in 1997.[14][15] She remained as a consultant on the National Academy of Sciences mathematics education program, serving as a consultant for the Everybody Counts report in 2000.[16] In 2013 Anderson was appointed to the Prince George's County School Board.[14] In 2019, she was honored as a Visionary Woman and Prince George's County Trailblazer by the Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center.

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gollark: "I hit my computer with a hammer yesterday. How do I recover my files? This is your fault."
gollark: But they would have silly support requests.
gollark: They can *use* it, just not *remove* it.
gollark: Well, you can look it up still.

References
  1. "Careers That Count". Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  2. "Cherished Memories". www.iuniverse.com. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  3. "Sturdy House of Cards The Jacques Sisters of New Orleans Play the Hand That Life Dealt Them". Washington Post. 2006-08-30. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  4. "Shared History - August 2016". The Shoofly Magazine. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  5. Facilitating the Learning of General Abstract Denotative Concepts in Mathematics (PhD). Catholic University of America. 1978. ProQuest 302914059.
  6. Mixbook. "Math for Morons - Photo Book". Mixbook. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  7. "CANCER SOCIETY AWARD". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  8. Anderson, Beverly J. (1990). "Minorities and Mathematics: The New Frontier and Challenge of the Nineties". The Journal of Negro Education. 59 (3): 260–272. doi:10.2307/2295562. JSTOR 2295562.
  9. "FOCUS: MAA" (PDF). MAA. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  10. Making Mathematics Work for Minorities: Proceedings of the Region I Workshop. National Academies. 1989.
  11. Mahalingam, Ram; McCarthy, Cameron (2013-10-28). Multicultural Curriculum: New Directions for Social Theory, Practice, and Policy. Routledge. ISBN 9781136052224.
  12. Anderson, Beverly J. (1991). Community Colleges: Promises or Preclusions. Washington, D.C.: Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse.
  13. Anderson, Beverly J. (1992). What has been done and what more must be done to recruit minorities in teaching mathematics. [publisher not identified]. OCLC 43536970.
  14. "Three New Appointees Fill Out Prince George's School Board". Laurel, MD Patch. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  15. "NASA - NASA GRC News Release 99-36". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  16. Read "Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education" at NAP.edu. 1989. doi:10.17226/1199. ISBN 978-0-309-03977-2.
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