Dr. Jeanne LaDuke: Pioneering Author
Fiske Society member Dr. Jeanne LaDuke talked with us about the challenges of becoming a mathematician and a faculty member at DePaul University for 30 years at a time when women were (and continue to be) underrepresented in the mathematics field. As co-author of “Pioneering Women in American Mathematics,” Dr. LaDuke tells us why she decided to include the AMS in her estate plan. “It has been so supportive of my scholarly interests and provided a warm community in which to participate. I am especially pleased that they published our book and continue to support the supplementary material for the book.” Read our conversation with Dr. Jeanne LaDuke and her experience publishing with the AMS.
When the esteemed Dr. Sigurdur “Siggi” Helgason (1927 – 2023) passed away last year at the age of 96, his family wanted to honor his career and memorialize his legacy by establishing a new named endowed fund to support the publication of books and journals at the AMS. A professor of mathematics at MIT for more than 60 years and a 2013 AMS fellow, Dr. Helgason also won the Leroy P. Steele Prize for his influential books Differential Geometry and Symmetric Spaces (Academic Press, 1962), Differential Geometry, Lie Groups, and Symmetric Spaces (Academic Press, 1978); and Groups and Geometric Analysis (Academic Press, 1984). As the author of seven books and numerous articles, Dr. Helgason valued the AMS’ publishing program for its focus on quality materials and its fair treatment of authors. The Sigurður Helgason Fund for Publication Support will help underwrite production and pricing of AMS publications and allow many works and archives available free of charge to the mathematical community.
As a professor of mathematics at the University of Montana, Dr. William “Bill” Ralph Ballard (1926-2014) dedicated his career to improving the quality of mathematics instruction and the curriculum. He wanted to ensure that all students received a rigorous foundation in math as part of a general liberal education. Dr. Ballard died in 2014, and ten years later, his wife, Lee Atwater Morgan Ballard (1924-2023), designated an unrestricted gift in memory of her husband to the AMS upon her passing. In their far-reaching commitment to high quality education as well as local libraries, conservation, and social services, the Ballards supported the causes they cared about throughout their lives.
John J. Fitzpatrick (1961-2022) of Lancaster, PA, a lifelong enthusiast of math, language, religion and chess, left a generous gift to the AMS Publication Support Fund after he passed away last year. Fitzpatrick graduated from J.P. McCaskey High School and Duke University with a bachelor's degree. After college, he moved to New York City and worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Barnes & Noble until his return to Lancaster. He was an avid reader of mathematics texts as well as countless other fields of study, and we thank him for his support of the AMS publishing program.
William “Bill” E. Hassinger (1929 – 2022) of Greensboro, North Carolina, was a successful executive and a quiet yet transformational philanthropist for higher education and the math community. A member of the AMS for 46 years, Hassinger had made annual gifts to the AMS, and his extraordinary bequest to the AMS as part of his estate plan will be a lasting legacy for many years to come.
Susan Schwartz Wildstrom, a longtime AMS supporter and member of the Fiske Society, inspired generations of students to discover mathematics during her 50-year career as a high school math teacher. Susan talked with us about her rocky start with calculus, her memories of teaching, and why she is making a gift in her will to the AMS.
Retired software engineer David Sward has been a member of the AMS since 2017. He became a member of the Fiske Society soon after when he let us know he had made a gift to the AMS in his charitable estate plan.
In 2021, mathematician Terry McKee and his wife, Shirley, established a Named Endowed Fund at the AMS, the Terry A. McKee Fund for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics at the AMS. Terry and Shirley spoke with us about their gift and how it will support future generations of mathematics undergraduates.
Walter O. Augenstein, Jr. (1951-2020) An AMS member for 25 years, Walt made a generous unrestricted bequest to the AMS. He received his BA in mathematics from Case Western Reserve University and worked in systems development and software design. Driven by a passion for math and computer science, he worked to increase his knowledge by taking MOOC courses (Massive Online Open Courses) and reading. He also actively volunteered for a local mental health support organization in his home city of Columbus, OH.
Ralph Mansfield (1912-2007) and Hilda Mansfield (1920-2020)
Mathematics runs in the family and has always been very important in our lives. That's why we decided to support the AMS financially because it is the AMS' primary mission to support mathematics and mathematicians.
Peter L. Duren (1935-2020) worked in complex analysis and the history of mathematics. He received his PhD in 1960 from MIT under the direction of Gian-Carlo Rota and taught at the University of Michigan from 1962 until 2010. An AMS member since 1959, Duren was an AMS Fellow, volunteer and author, a prolific writer, and served as an editor for The American Mathematical Monthly and the Michigan Mathematical Journal. His 
Mathematical couple, Joanna Wood Schot (1927-2019) and Steven H. Schot (1930-2018), generously remembered the AMS in their Trust with an unrestricted bequest. In the 1960s, Joanna Wood Schot was a nuclear physicist who worked to develop computer programs essential in the development of propulsion engines and power reactors for the Navy. She also served as Executive Director of the Association of Women in Mathematics in the 1990s. Her husband, Steven H. Schot, worked in differential equations and fluid mechanics and was a Professor Emeritus at American University, Washington, D.C.. We thank Joanna and Steven for their support of research and the mathematical community through their generous unrestricted bequest.