Miriam Almaguer Leiva is a Cuban-American mathematician and mathematics educator, the first American Hispanic woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics and mathematics education. She is the Bonnie Cone Distinguished Professor for Teaching Emerita in the Department of Mathematics at the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

, and the founder of TODOS: Mathematics for All, an organization devoted to advocacy for and encouragement of

Latinx ''Latinx'' is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral suffix replaces the ending of ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' that are typical o ...

students in mathematics. She is also an author of many secondary-school mathematics textbooks.

Education and career

Leiva moved from Cuba to the US as a teenager in the 1950s. She did her undergraduate studies at

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...

, graduating in 1961, and was initially denied admission for graduate study in mathematics at the University of North Carolina for being a woman. Nevertheless, she persisted, and earned a master's degree there in 1966 under the mentorship of

Alfred Brauer Alfred Theodor Brauer (April 9, 1894 – December 23, 1985) was a German-American mathematician who did work in number theory. He was born in Charlottenburg, and studied at the Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Berlin. As he served ...

, with a thesis on ''Elementary estimates for the least positive primitive root modulo p^r''. After finishing her master's degree, she became a secondary school mathematics teacher. Later, she obtained a teaching position at the University of North Carolina, and while teaching there completed her doctorate in mathematics and mathematics education through a

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

program at

Union Institute & University Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...

Recognition

In 2008, TODOS gave Leiva their Iris Carl Equity and Leadership Award. In 2013 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 ...

(NCTM) gave her the inaugural Kay Gilliland Equity Lecture Award for "contributions to equity in mathematics education". In 2014 the NCTM gave her the Mathematics Education Trust Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics Education.

References

External links

TODOS: Mathematics for All
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leiva, Miriam A. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Cuban emigrants to the United States 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians Mathematics educators Guilford College alumni University of North Carolina at Charlotte faculty 20th-century women mathematicians 21st-century women mathematicians 20th-century American women 21st-century American women