Raleigh Stanton Hales, Jr. (born March 16, 1942) is an American mathematician and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, specializing in

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many appl ...

. He was named president of

The College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

in 1995, and retired from the College in July 2007. Prior to his appointment as president, he served as vice president for academic affairs at Wooster from 1990 to 1995. He was also a professor in the department of mathematics and computer science. Since 2007, he has been a senior consultant affiliated with Academic Search, Inc. (DC). A native of

Pasadena, CA Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, Hales attended

Flintridge Preparatory School Flintridge Preparatory School, familiarly known as Flintridge Prep or simply Prep, is a coeducational day school for grades 7-12. Founded in 1933, it is located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Facilities School facilities inc ...

in La Canada, California. He is the younger brother of mathematician Alfred W. Hales. In 1964, he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Pomona College in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...

. He then earned masters and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow during the 1964–1965 academic year and served as a teaching fellow from 1965–1967. Hales joined the faculty of his alma mater, Pomona, in 1967. He was named associate dean of the college at Pomona in 1973 and served for one year (1982–83) as acting dean. In 1971, he received the Rudolph J. Wig Distinguished Professorship Award at Pomona. In 2004, Hales received an honorary doctorate of science degree from Pomona. Dr. Hales was among prestigious company: Walter Cronkite was a fellow degree recipient. In 2011, he received the honorary degree doctor of laws from The College of Wooster, and in 2013, the honorary degree doctor of humane letters from Centre College. Hales served as treasurer and board member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and chaired the executive committee of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. He is a former chair of the boards of directors of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, as well as past president of the North Coast Athletic Conference. Hales is a two-time United States men's singles champion in badminton, winning the titles in 1970 and 1971. During his 40-year career, he has played on and coached the U.S. Thomas Cup team. He was a member of the council of the International Badminton Federation for 10 years and was one of three deputy referees for the badminton competition at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA. Hales won back-to-back national junior titles in 1959 and 1960, and became a national champion again by winning the Grand Master's (60 and over) men's singles title in 2002 and 2003.Sports Illustrated
"Faces in the Crowd"
/ref> He has co-authored a book on the sport with Margaret Varner Bloss titled "Badminton". In the area of public service, Hales served in 2003-04 as a member of Governor Robert A. Taft’s Commission of Higher Education and the Economy. In 2002–03, he chaired the Site Selection Task Force for Wayne County Chapter of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. Hales and his wife, Diane (also a former U.S. badminton champion), have two children: Karen, a graduate of

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

(Ph.D.), currently on the faculty at

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

, and Chris, a graduate of Stanford and Yale Law School and currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Sacramento, CA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hales, R. Stanton American male badminton players 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Pomona College alumni Harvard University alumni College of Wooster Living people 1942 births