Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis, professor of mathematics at Lee University, was recently elected to serve as chairperson for the Business, Industry, Government (BIG) Committee of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). She was appointed by the Council on Committees of the MAA to a three-year term in the office, starting February 2021.

This appointment comes just four months after Maher-Boulis was also elected by MAA members to serve as chairperson for the BIG Special Interest Group of the MAA (BIG SIGMAA), which provides resources and a forum for mathematicians working in business, industry, and government.

“It is yet another honor to be appointed by the MAA’s Council on Committees to chair the BIG Committee,” said Maher-Boulis.

The BIG Committee advises and makes recommendations to the MAA on issues related to various member communities represented in the Council. It also brings ideas for mathematical programs or curricular items in collaboration with the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM).

The MAA is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts and cultivates participation in mathematics through outreach and partnership. The MAA runs multiple councils under its supervision in order to foster the open exchange of ideas about the teaching and learning of mathematics, along with developing and promoting research-based instructional resources and practices.

According to Maher-Boulis, the MAA has members representing financial agencies, research firms, insurance companies, management consulting businesses, and others.

“I encourage businesses in Bradley and Hamilton counties, and the surrounding areas, to join BIG or BIG SIGMAA,” said Maher-Boulis. “We have quite a few industries and manufacturing companies in our own area that can enrich our MAA committees quite a bit through their memberships.”

Maher-Boulis joined Lee’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 2004 and currently serves as a professor of mathematics in the mathematical sciences department, teaching lower and upper division courses. Since coming to Lee, she spearheaded the creation of the mathematics degree with actuarial science emphasis and created an internship program for mathematics majors. She has supervised the work of Lee students on 11 projects from local industries, school systems, and hospitals.

She earned her Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science from Florida State University, with a minor in financial mathematics, and her bachelor’s degree from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Maher-Boulis was the recipient of a departmental summer fellowship in 2002 and the Goodner Teaching Award in 2001 from Florida State and winner of the Science Department Academic Honor Award in 1993 from the American University in Cairo.

For more information on the Mathematical Association of America, visit MAA.

For more information on BIG or BIG SIGMAA, contact Maher-Boulis at [email protected].