Truman Chosen to Participate in Prestigious Heartland Mathematics Partnership

Truman State University has gained another distinction among Missouri’s colleges and universities: being the only institution from the state whose department of mathematics was invited to participate in the Heartland Mathematics Partnership.

The project is initiated by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Iowa. The Partnership involves 12 regional liberal arts institutions: Bradley University, Central College, Clarke College, Coe College, Cornell College, Grinnell College, Loras College, Luther College, Truman State University, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse and Wartburg College.

The University of Iowa and the Partnership schools received formal notification in September 2006 that the Partnership has been awarded a prestigious five-year, $3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant designed to increase the number of highly talented students from the United States who enter a career in the mathematical sciences. Called VIGRE (Vertical Integration of Research and Education), the project is one of only three such grants awarded each year across the country.

The NSF VIGRE grant will sponsor a number of Partnership activities: (1) Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral fellows will be supported in state-of-the-art mathematics research as part of teams with University of Iowa faculty. (2) An extensive Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) will be created at the University of Iowa, with preferential admission extended to undergraduates from the 12 Partnership schools. (3) Faculty exchange programs will be offered to faculty at Partnership schools whose research overlaps with that of University of Iowa mathematics faculty. (4) Some long-term research projects will be offered, where undergraduates continue to work with a professor at their home institution on a project initiated at the University of Iowa.

The Principal Investigator of the VIGRE grant is David Manderscheid, chair of the department of mathematics at the University of Iowa. Kevin Easley, professor of mathematics, represents Truman State University on the Heartland Mathematics Partnership.
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