Annie Laurer Alexander Selden is an expert in

mathematics education In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although rese ...

. She is a professor emeritus at

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

, and an adjunct professor at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. She was one of the original founders of the

Association for Women in Mathematics The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity for and the equal treatment o ...

in 1971.

Education

Born as Annie Louise Laurer, she graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

in 1959, learned to program computers in a summer job at IBM in

Endicott, New York Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B. Endicott, a founding member of the En ...

, and traveled to the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

to study mathematics as a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. With the support of the

Woodrow Wilson Foundation The Woodrow Wilson Foundation was an educational non-profit created in 1921, organized under the laws of New York, for the "perpetuation of Wilson's ideals" via periodic grants to worthy groups and individuals. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the chai ...

, she earned a master's degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1962. Delayed by marriage and two children, she completed her Ph.D. from

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region and Beacon, New York. It was founded in 1896 and has an enr ...

in 1974. She published her dissertation, ''Bisimple ω-semigroups in the locally compact setting'', under the name Annie Laurer Alexander. It was supervised by John Selden Jr., whom she later married as her second husband.

Career

Although Selden originally intended to be a research mathematician, the job market at the time of her graduation led her to teach abroad, and the experience of teaching mathematics to non-native English speakers led her to become interested in mathematics education. She taught at the

State University of New York at Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or, colloquially, Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam, New York. It is the northernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1816, it is among the ...

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , cou ...

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...

in Turkey, and

Bayero University Kano The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from University College to University. It is the first university in ...

in Nigeria, before joining Tennessee Technological University in 1985. She retired and moved to New Mexico in 2003.

Awards and honors

In 2002, Selden was the winner of the

Louise Hay Award The Louise Hay Award is a mathematics award established in 1990 by the Association for Women in Mathematics in recognition of contributions as a math educator. The award was created in honor of Louise Hay. Recipients The following women have been ...

of the

, and the

AWM/MAA Falconer Lecturer The Etta Z. Falconer Lecture is an award and lecture series which honors "women who have made distinguished contributions to the mathematical sciences or mathematics education". It is sponsored by the Association for Women in Mathematics and the Ma ...

. She was elected as a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 2003. The Annie and John Selden Prize of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

is named after Selden and her husband.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selden, Annie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American mathematicians Women mathematicians Mathematics educators Oberlin College alumni Yale University alumni Clarkson University alumni State University of New York at Potsdam faculty Hampden–Sydney College faculty Academic staff of Boğaziçi University Academic staff of Bayero University Kano Tennessee Technological University Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 20th-century American mathematicians Fulbright alumni