The Published Advertisement &
Further Information
about Centre, Teaching, Scholarship, Service and the Local Community
Centre College is currently conducting searches for a one-year visiting position in mathematics.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Centre College invites applications for a one-year visiting position at the Assistant Professor level
in mathematics to start in Fall 2008. A Ph.D. in any area of mathematics or a related discipline is required.
Preference will be given to candidates with degrees in analysis, applied mathematics, or statistics.
The successful applicant must demonstrate a serious commitment to excellent teaching in a nationally ranked,
residential liberal arts college environment. Ongoing scholarly activity, including such work as
collaborative research with undergraduates, is expected and supported by the college.
For more information about the math program at Centre please visit our website
(http://web.centre.edu/mat/).
To apply, send a letter of application, an AMS Cover Sheet
(http://www.ams.org/coversheet), a curriculum vitae,
copies of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts (photocopies are acceptable),
three letters of recommendation, and a statement of your teaching philosophy to
Dean Stephanie Fabritius, Centre College, 600 W. Walnut St., Danville, KY 40422.
Centre College is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Further information
Why is it typical that Centre alumni leave campus with feelings of affection and
gratitude that tend to remain strong - often intensely so - throughout their lifetimes?
I believe it is because Centre transforms student lives.
John Roush, President of Centre College
Centre College is a selective, nationally ranked liberal arts college with 1150 students,
a student-faculty ratio of 11-1, and an average class size of 18.
Centre is ranked in the top fifty national liberal arts colleges by
the U.S. News & World Report and among the top colleges and universities
in the National Survey of Student Engagement.
The Mathematics Department (or Program) of Centre College consists of seven full-time
faculty; on rare occasions adjunct faculty teach mathematics courses.
We are hiring at this time since one of our colleagues has accepted a position as
Provost at another institution.
We are closely allied with both Computer Science and Physics having one mathematics
faculty member shared with each of these programs. We are a diverse,
interesting, and lively bunch. There is a friendly atmosphere in Olin
Hall and hallway conversations among colleagues are an integral part of
our day. Most importantly, we are united in our passionate commitment
to excellence in teaching. We each bring our unique approach to teaching
and relating with students to the department and together we craft the
transformative experience of undergraduate mathematics education at Centre
College.
As at most liberal arts colleges, Centre College faculty are encouraged to aspire to
excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.
Teaching
Centre College faculty carry a teaching load of six courses per academic year.
For mathematics faculty, this means teaching 3 courses in the fall and
either 3 courses in the spring or 1 course in the CentreTerm (winter term) and
2 courses in the spring.
In a typical academic year, approximately two-thirds of the entering freshman
class elects to take a mathematics course.
The mathematics department tries to arrange a teaching load of at
most two course preparations per term, but occasionally
it is necessary to teach three different courses.
During the last academic year, the mathematics department offered 28 courses
with an average enrollment of approximately 18 students. The average size
of a 100-level mathematics course is 20-25 students with mathematics courses
above the 100-level averaging 15 students and mathematics courses at the
300-level averaging more than 10 students.
A review of our course offerings will show that we only offer two courses
at a precalculus level: a course with a quantitative literacy flavor for students
with low SAT/ACT math scores and an algebra-based statistics course.
We also offer a "calculus with review" sequence that, in two terms,
covers a bit more than the standard Calculus I
material plus some "just-in-time" review of selected precalculus topics.
The remainder of our courses are offered at the calculus-level and above
and the majority of our students enroll in these more advanced courses.
In addition to the standard mathematics courses listed in the catalog,
the math department has an annual, rotating, junior-senior level topics courses.
All mathematics faculty members have the opportunity to teach these topics courses;
they typically reflect the personal mathematical interests of the professor.
Our mathematics majors also seek out opportunities for independent and directed
studies and, together with the topics courses,
these add an important diversity to the mathematics courses offered at Centre College.
We have very good students who are pleasant to work with and
engaged in their studies.
Almost 60% of our students rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class and
85% rank in the top 25 percent.
For students submitting ACT scores, range for the middle 50 percent of class is 25 to 29;
for SAT scores, range for the middle 50 percent is 570-700 verbal and 560-670 math.
In last 40 years, Centre has produced two-thirds of Kentucky's Rhodes Scholars
(the most recent was a math major) and 24 Fulbright winners in last 10 years
(including two math majors).
Centre College is the only private institution of higher education
in Kentucky to host a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
The last few years, we have averaged 10 majors in a graduating class of
approximately 225 students and an approximately 50-50 split between men and women
mathematics majors, both exceeding national averages.
At the moment we have bumper crop of majors coming through the program - 20 in the junior class
and we're expecting about this same number in the sophomore class this spring.
Our majors choose diverse paths of work and study when they leave Centre College;
we encourage you to visit What's been done
to learn more about the choices made by our majors in the last decade - including
the local and national awards earned by our students.
Centre College places paramount importance on excellence in undergraduate education.
In annual reviews, in tenure reviews, in promotion reviews, in daily faculty conversation,
our teaching carries primary consideration.
Centre offers faculty members many types of support for the development of teaching skills,
including a formal mentoring program for first-year faculty,
informal conversations with colleagues, classroom visits,
and regular opportunities for personal self-reflection.
In addition, Centre has provided financial support for many to attend a summer
pedagogy workshop developed by the Associated Colleges of the South.
Through all of these resources, Centre hopes to facilitate each faculty member's
efforts to achieve excellence in teaching.
Scholarship
Members of the faculty of Centre College are active teacher-scholars.
While the primary criterion for evaluation is teaching, scholarly activity is
expected.
We recognize and support the diverse ways of remaining active as a scholar of mathematics.
Indeed, the members of our program have chosen many different approaches to remaining
active mathematicians:
from independent work with students to expository lectures,
from writing textbooks to publishing research articles,
from serving in mathematics organizations to publishing problem solutions,
and so on...
Centre College provides support for ongoing scholarly activity,
including funds for attending professional meetings,
a summer research grant program, a library book-buying budget,
a sabbatical program,
and an atmosphere that encourages inquiry.
Service
Centre College faculty members choose different ways to be of service to the college and
the community in accordance with their personal interests.
First-year faculty are asked to focus on settling in at the college and
on developing excellence in their teaching and scholarship.
Beginning in the second year, all members of the
faculty are asked to take on responsibilities in advising
both freshmen and majors, to begin serving on various committees, and to
contribute to various administrative tasks essential to the life of the mathematics department.
There are also many opportunities to interact informally with the students
and student organizations
and these personal interactions are vitally important
to the atmosphere of this small, primarily residential liberal arts college.
Several members of the mathematics faculty have served the broader mathematical
community as officers of the Kentucky Section of the MAA and as
AP graders for ETS.
The Local Community
Centre College is located in the city of Danville in central Kentucky,
approximately 45 minutes south of Lexington, an hour and half southeast of Louisville,
and three hours south of Cincinnati, Ohio.
This area is referred to as the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and is among the
most picturesque and historic regions of the state and the country.
Centre faculty choose to live all over the Bluegrass Region, although most
reside in Danville/Boyle County with a significant minority residing in Lexington.
Danville has 18,000 residents and is located in Boyle County
which has an additional 14,000 residents.
Danville is featured in Norman Crampton’s book The 100 Best Small Towns in America
and is widely recognized for its high quality of life.
In addition to Centre College, Danville is host to the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical
Center and Boyle County has a diverse retail and light-industrial manufacturing economic
base;
that is, Centre College plays an important role in the life of the local community,
but Danville is far more than a "college town."
Formerly known as the Regional Arts Center, Centre College's Norton Center
for the Arts is an internationally recognized performing arts center.
The 85,000 square-foot complex was designed by architect
William Wesley Peters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Each year, the Norton Center hosts a series of outstanding guest
artists as well as touring productions and symphony orchestras.
Past performers have included violinist Itzhak Perlman, dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and
Twyla Tharp, the Boston Pops, Chieftans, Three Dog Night, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,
and musicals such as Rent, Titanic, Annie Get Your Gun, and
My Fair Lady.
In October 2000, the Norton Center was the site of the vice-presidential debate
between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman.
Some links
Any comments or questions about this site can be addressed to the
math web master.
