Simmons College

Donna Beers is Professor of Mathematics at Simmons College where she has been teaching since 1986. During that time she has served as chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and director of the Honors program and the Information Technology program. She has served on a range of college committees, including the Committee on Tenure and Appointments, Faculty Council, Curriculum Committee, the College of Arts and Sciences Fiscal and Budgetary Affairs Committee, and the Information Technology Academic Governance Advisory Committee.

Her scholarly interests include undergraduate research, modern algebra, and the preparation of teachers. Her teaching spans a wide range of students, from first-year pre-meds who are taking calculus, to sophomores in discrete mathematics who plan to major in computer science, to juniors who are elementary school teacher candidates, to seniors who are majoring in mathematics. Examples of research topics pursued by some of her recent students include: cryptography, the sphere packing problem, the population dynamics of Atlantic salmon, and the correlation between patient religiosity and health care utilization.

Since graduate school, she has been an active member of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the largest professional society to focus on undergraduate mathematics education. She has served as chair and governor of the Northeastern Section of the MAA, and also served on the editorial boards of MAA journals, including The American Mathematical Monthly and Mathematics Magazine. She initiated the Student Chapter of the MAA at Simmons and her advisees regularly present their research at undergraduate mathematics conferences. In fall, 2006, she spent a sabbatical leave as Visiting Mathematician at the MAA headquarters in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. She received the Certificate for Meritorious Service in 2007 for her contributions to the MAA and her commitment to the advancement of mathematics.