Message from the Chair
Hello again, and welcome to a new year! I'd like to pause for a moment to honor Jim Daly, who passed away in December 2011. He fought the good fight, going through what appeared to be successful esophageal cancer surgery. The cancer returned, though, and Jim was unable to fight off the disease. Jim was one of the finest individuals I ever met and a great friend; he is sorely missed.
For those of you unaware of the history of the department, Jim was the associate department chair when we were part of the Computer Science and Statistics Department and the first chair of the Statistics Department. Without his efforts in those early years, the department would not have grown as successfully as it has.
Pat and Judy Marsh donated a bike rack in memory of Jim. Pat was a lecturer in the Statistics Department and earned his master’s degree in computer science from Cal Poly. Both Pat and Judy were good friends of Jim.
Those wishing to honor Jim's memory may donate to the Joyce Curry-Daly and James Daly Scholarship Endowment, a scholarship endowment established by Jim in honor of his first wife, Joyce, and renamed and further endowed by his second wife, Wendy. The number and amounts of donations received upon Jim’s death were remarkable and demonstrate the large number of people whose lives he touched. For more information, please read a brief biography of Jim and his many achievements.
The department has undergone personnel changes. First, the subtractions. Last year Lina Ignatova took a leave of absence to be with her new husband and child; after that year she decided not to return and has resigned her position. Kent Smith completed his teaching assignment under the faculty early retirement program (FERP) and will not return.
We also lost three lecturers from last year. Mohammed Aziz, who replaced Lina for the year, has accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. Mohammed stepped in at the last moment to replace Lina and his efforts are appreciated.
Clint Hahlbeck is returning to the Mathematics Department at Cal Poly, having accepted an administrative position that includes teaching. He did a fine job for us, and we wish him well in his new career.
Dennis O’Brien has re-retired and hit the road traveling around the country in his rather fancy motor home with his wife Diane. This was the second time that Dennis agreed to help us out, and we appreciate his efforts and wish the wind be at his back and all that sort of stuff.
Now, the additions. We have four new tenure-track faculty members. They have written about themselves elsewhere in this newsletter, and we are lucky to have all four joining us. We look forward to seeing grand things from them all.
Notable events for the faculty include the promotion of Ulric Lund to full professor, the granting of tenure and promotion to associate professor for Karen McGaughey, and the retention of Soma Roy to a fifth and sixth probationary year — all well-deserved. Also, Steve Rein was elected chair of the Academic Senate while Andrew Schaffner continues to serve as the chair of the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee, key positions both.
Once again, a major event for many in the department was grading the Advanced Placement Statistics exam, discussed in Allan Rossman’s article.
The student body in the department is healthy. Eleven students graduated this year, two in the winter and nine in the spring, with another due to finish at the end of the summer. We have 21 well-qualified new majors, 19 freshman and two transfer students, about the same number as last year.
Melody Pietsch, the department’s administrative coordinator, continues to streamline the department and often presents her dunderheaded boss with excellent suggestions to make me look better than I am. She and Beth Chance put this newsletter together and their efforts are appreciated.
This will be my last year as department chair. I am retiring next September and plan to FERP, teaching half-time for the following five years. The new department chair will be Allan Rossman, who I promise you will do a wonderful job. We will treat this year as a transition year — I will take a few of Allan’s classes and he will take on some of my duties. This experience should make it easier for Allan in subsequent years.
The faculty and students appreciate all of you who have supported the department financially — your help allows us to fund student and faculty activities that are an important part of the educational process and to purchase equipment and materials that further the department’s mission. Thank you!
Have a great year!
Bob Smidt, Department Chair
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