Joan Ferrini-Mundy (born 1954) is a mathematics educator. Her research interests include

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

teaching and learning, mathematics teacher learning, and

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

education policy. She is currently the president of the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

Career and research

Ferrini-Mundy earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

(UNH) in 1980 and spent two years there as a postdoctoral associate. After one year at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

, she returned to UNH as a faculty member in mathematics until joining the faculty of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1999. One year later, she chaired the writing group for ''Standards 2000'', a publication from the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...

. In 2007, Ferrini-Mundy joined the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

(NSF) as the director of the new Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources; she remained a faculty member at Michigan State until 2010. From 2007 to 2009, she served on the education subcommittee of the

National Science and Technology Council The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is a council in the Executive Branch of the United States. It is designed to coordinate science and technology policy across the branches of federal government. History The National Science and ...

. In February 2011, Ferrini-Mundy became the assistant director of the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Education and Human Resources. In this strategic role, she set the NSF's direction for scientific education. In 2014 she was elected to the executive committee 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 ...

for a 2-year term. In June 2017, she was appointed the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

of the NSF. One year later, she left the NSF to become the 21st president of the University of Maine.

Awards and recognition

In 2000, Ferrini-Mundy was the recipient 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 ...

. In 2011, Ferrini-Mundy was elected as a Fellow at 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 ...

She was elected to the 2018 class of

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrini-Mundy, Joan American educators American women mathematicians Living people 1954 births Fellows of the American Mathematical Society University of New Hampshire alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty University of New Hampshire faculty Michigan State University faculty Presidents of the University of Maine 21st-century American women Women heads of universities and colleges