Committee on Supporting Mathematics Degree Programs
General Description
- Standing committee
- Co-chairs will be appointed by the President
- Members will be appointed by the President, in consultation with the co-Chairs
- Term is up to three years, renewable.
- All members are voting. Ex-officio members include the president and secretary as well as the executive director, the chair of the Committee on the Profession, the chair of the Committee on Education, the director of Communications, the head of Government Relations, and the director of Programs (or their respective designees).
A task force was created in 2024 and in 2025 became a standing committee with the following goals: (1) to track possible mathematics program closures at colleges and universities; (2) to consider and recommend actions addressing the impact of such closures to the AMS Council and Board of Trustees; (3) to develop a playbook for response to such events; (4) to develop and maintain statements and documents to enunciate the value of degree programs in the mathematical sciences; and (5) to provide resources and other support for faculty and students whose programs are either cut or under existential threat.
Principal Activities
An eponymous was created in 2024 to guide the AMS in its efforts to support mathematical sciences programs at colleges and universities, and this became a standing committee in 2025.
This committee identifies the framework for the development and dissemination of programs and resources for departments so that they are increasingly vital to the health of the educational institution. This committee provides an annual update to the Council.
Possible activities include:
1) Identify strategic efforts to support programs in the mathematical sciences, relating, for example, to professional development and curriculum.
2) Develop strategies for dissemination.
3) Identify data for accessing effectiveness of programs.
4) Identify long-term needs of degree programs in the mathematical sciences.
5) Coordinate responses, as needed, to urgent matters arising in the mathematical community.
Miscellaneous Information
The Committee does its work primarily by email and virtual meetings with the possibility of in-person meetings.