Mathematical Association of America

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a group that helps people learn and enjoy mathematics. It has members who are university, college, and high school teachers, students, and people who study mathematicians, computer scientists, and statisticians.

The MAA started in 1915 and is based at 11 Dupont in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C.. The MAA shares books and magazines about math, such as the American Mathematical Monthly. This magazine was started in 1894 by Benjamin Finkel.

The MAA works to help people learn math through events, competitions, and tools for teachers and students. It shows how fun and important math can be in everyday life.

Meetings

The MAA sponsors the annual summer MathFest. It also works together with the American Mathematical Society for the Joint Mathematics Meeting each January. Sometimes, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics joins these meetings. There are also twenty-nine regional sections that hold their own regular meetings.

Publications

The Mathematical Association of America publishes journals and resources to help teachers and students learn mathematics better. Some well-known journals include The American Mathematical Monthly, for readers from students to experts, and Mathematics Magazine, for teachers of undergraduate math.

They also have other publications like The College Mathematics Journal for beginner and intermediate students, and Math Horizons for undergraduate students. The MAA also offers books and online tools to support math education.

Competitions

The Mathematical Association of America sponsors many math competitions for students. A well-known contest is the William Lowell Putnam Competition for college students. For younger students, there are the American Mathematics Competitions, including the AMC 8, AMC 10, and AMC 12, which have multiple-choice questions. There is also the AIME with short-answer questions and the USAMO/USAJMO, a contest where students write proofs. Top performers might join the Mathematical Olympiad Program and could one day represent the U.S. at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

Sections

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) has twenty-nine regional sections across the United States. These sections include areas such as Allegheny Mountain, Florida, Illinois, and many others. They help bring together teachers, students, and professionals who love mathematics.

Mathematical Association of America

Special Interest Groups

The Mathematical Association of America has seventeen Special Interest Groups, called SIGMAAs. These groups help people who share the same love for mathematics.

They also help these groups connect with the larger mathematics community.

The Special Interest Groups include topics such as Mathematics and the Arts, Business, Industry, Government, Environmental Mathematics, History of Mathematics, and many more. These groups cover many areas where mathematics is important.

Awards and prizes

The Mathematical Association of America gives out many awards for math achievements. Some of these include the Chauvenet Prize, the Carl B. Allendoerfer Award, the Trevor Evans Award, the Lester R. Ford Award, and the George Pólya Award. They also have special prizes like the Merten M. Hasse Prize, Henry L. Alder Award, and Euler Book Prize, as well as the Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics and the Beckenbach Book Prize. These prizes celebrate great work in making math fun and easy to understand.

Memberships

The MAA works with other groups to support mathematics. It is one of four partners in the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. It also takes part in the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences. This board has sixteen societies that all care about math.

Historical accounts

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) was started in 1915. It began even earlier, in 1894, when the American Mathematical Monthly was created by Benjamin Finkel. Finkel wanted to make a journal that would be fun and easy for students and teachers to read. He focused on solving problems instead of very hard topics.

The MAA's history is written about in many books and reports. You can find the MAA's records in the Archives of American Mathematics.

Inclusivity

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) works to be fair and open to everyone. In the past, some unfair treatment happened that was common in the United States. For example, at a meeting in Nashville in 1951, some mathematicians were not allowed to attend a dinner because of their race. The mathematician Lee Lorch spoke out about this unfairness.

The MAA created rules against discrimination and has followed them ever since. The Association's first woman president was Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, serving from 1979 to 1980.

Presidents

The Mathematical Association of America has had many leaders since it began. Here are some of the presidents who have guided the group over the years:

• 1916 Earle R Hedrick
• 1917 Florian Cajori
• 1918 Edward V Huntington
• 1919 Herbert Ellsworth Slaught
• 1920 David Eugene Smith
• 1921 George A Miller
• 1922 Raymond C Archibald
• 1923 Robert D Carmichael
• 1924 Henry L Rietz
• 1925 Julian L Coolidge
• 1926 Dunham Jackson
• 1927–1928 Walter B Ford
• 1929–1930 John W Young
• 1931–1932 Eric T Bell
• 1933–1934 Arnold Dresden
• 1935–1936 David R Curtiss
• 1937–1938 Aubrey J Kempner
• 1939–1940 Walter B Carver
• 1941–1942 Raymond Woodard Brink
• 1943–1944 William D Cairns
• 1945–1946 Cyrus C MacDuffee
• 1947–1948 Lester R Ford
• 1949–1950 Rudolph E Langer
• 1951–1952 Saunders Mac Lane
• 1953–1954 Edward J McShane
• 1955–1956 William L Duren, Jr
• 1957–1958 G Baley Price
• 1959–1960 Carl B Allendoerfer
• 1961–1962 Albert W Tucker
• 1963–1964 R H Bing
• 1965–1966 Raymond L Wilder
• 1967–1968 Edwin E Moise
• 1969–1970 Gail S Young
• 1971–1972 Victor Klee
• 1973–1974 Ralph P Boas
• 1975–1976 Henry O Pollak
• 1977–1978 Henry L Alder
• 1979–1980 Dorothy L Bernstein
• 1981–1982 Richard D Anderson
• 1983–1984 Ivan Niven
• 1985–1986 Lynn A Steen
• 1987–1988 Leonard Gillman
• 1989–1990 Lida K Barrett
• 1991–1992 Deborah Tepper Haimo
• 1993–1994 Donald L Kreider
• 1995–1996 Kenneth A Ross
• 1997–1998 Gerald L Alexanderson
• 1999–2000 Thomas F Banchoff
• 2001–2002 Ann E. Watkins
• 2003–2004 Ronald L Graham
• 2005–2006 Carl C Cowen
• 2007–2008 Joseph A Gallian
• 2009–2010 David M Bressoud
• 2011–2012 Paul M Zorn
• 2013–2014 Bob Devaney
• 2015–2016 Francis E. Su
• 2017–2018 Deanna Haunsperger
• 2019–2020 Michael Dorff
• 2021-2022 Jennifer Quinn
• 2022-2025 Hortensia Soto
• 2025-Present Jenna Carpenter