Patricia Clark Kenschaft (March 25, 1940 – November 20, 2022) was an American mathematician. She was a professor of mathematics at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

. She is known as a prolific author of books on mathematics, as a founder of PRIMES, the Project for Resourceful Instruction of Mathematics in the Elementary School, and for her work for equity and diversity in mathematics.

Early life, education and career

Kenschaft was born in 1940 to political activist and history teacher Bertha Francis Clark and organic chemist John Randolph Clark. The family lived in Nutley. The eldest of four children, Kenschaft took on a nurturing in the household. Her brother, Bruce, was born with cognitive disabilities. This led to her mother and family becoming advocates for special education and state income taxes to better support school systems. Kenschaft graduated from Swarthmore College in 1961, earning a bachelor's degree with honors in mathematics and with minors in English, philosophy, and education. She earned a master's degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1963, and then returned to the University of Pennsylvania for doctoral studies, completing a Ph.D. in 1973, while in the same period raising a child and founding a nursery school in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

. Her dissertation, in

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (e.g. inner product, norm, topology, etc.) and the linear functions defined o ...

, was ''Homogeneous

C^*

-Algebras over

S^n

'', and was supervised by Edward Effros. After working in adjunct positions at St. Elizabeth's College and

Bloomfield College Bloomfield College is a private college in Bloomfield, New Jersey. It is chartered by the State of New Jersey and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) through ...

, she joined the Montclair State faculty in 1973, and was promoted to full professor in 1988. She retired in 2005 and died in 2022.

Service to the profession

Kenschaft became the founding president of the New Jersey Association for Women in Mathematics in 1981 and of the New Jersey Faculty Forum in 1988. She chaired the Committee on Participation of Women of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) from 1987 to 1993, the Committee on Mathematics and the Environment of the MAA from 2000 to 2004, and the Equity and Diversity Integration Task Force of 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 2003. She served as director of several projects to improve mathematics education in public schools, including PRIMES (Project for Resourceful Instruction of Mathematics in the Elementary School). Kenschaft hosted a live weekly radio talk show called "Math Medley" from 1998 - 2004.

Books

Kenschaft was the author of: *''Calculus: A Practical Approach'' (with Kenneth Kalmanson, Worth, 1975) *''Childbirth, Cooperative Style: Family Experience with Prepared Childbirth and Prenatal Classes'' (Exposition Press, 1977) *''Linear Mathematics: A Practical Approach'' (Worth, 1978) *''Mathematics: A Practical Approach'' (with Kenneth Kalmanson, Worth, 1978) *''Math Power: How to Help Your Child Love Math Even If You Don’t'' (Addison-Wesley, 1997; Dover, 2014) *''Mathematics for Human Survival'' (Whitter, 2002) *''Change Is Possible: Stories of Women and Minorities in Mathematics'' (American Mathematical Society, 2005) Additionally, she edited *''Winning Women into Mathematics'' (Mathematical Association of America, 1991) *''Environmental Mathematics in the Classroom'' (with Ben Fusaro, Mathematical Association of America, 2003)

Recognition

Kenschaft was the 2006 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

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 recognition of her long career of dedicated service to mathematics and mathematics education" and for her work "writing about, speaking about, and working for mathematics and mathematics education in the areas of K–12 education, the environment, affirmative action and equity, and public awareness of the importance of mathematics in society". In 2012, she received the Sr. Stephanie Sloyan Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey section of the Mathematical Association of America. She was the 2013 Falconer Lecturer of the

and Mathematical Association of America, speaking on "Improving Equity and Education: Why and How". Kenshaft was selected a Fellow of the

in the Class of 2021 "''for almost 50 years of sustained and lasting commitment to the advancement of underrepresented groups in the mathematical sciences, especially girls, women, and African Americans. Her extensive service, publications, and outreach bring to light racism, sexism, and inequities, always delivered with the message that positive change is possible''".

References

External links

Archive of Home page at MontclairArchive of Personal home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenschaft, Patricia Clark 1940 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians Swarthmore College alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Montclair State University faculty 20th-century women mathematicians 21st-century women mathematicians Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics 20th-century American women 21st-century American women