Task Force to Support Mathematics Degree Programs
General Description
- Task Force is standing
- Two Task Force 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).
This task force was created in 2024 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
This task force is charged with tracking possible program cuts in mathematics departments, and providing support to faculty members whose departments are either under threat of cuts or elimination, or which have been cut. The following is a list of potential activities of this task force. 1. Manage crises by, for example, tracking—via individual communications, news sources, and social media—departments under threat; 2. Develop resources for departments to make arguments as to why mathematics programs are vital to the health of the educational institution, and to use during appeals processes; 3. Work with AMS staff to develop strategies and materials for communications, messaging, and media relations; 4. Work with AMS staff on government relations and advocacy when public university programs are under threat; 5. Update AMS Board of Trustees and Council regularly.
Miscellaneous Information
The Committee does its work primarily by email and virtual meetings with the possibility of in-person meetings.