Beverly Anderson
{{short description|American mathematician and academic (born 1943)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Beverly J. Anderson
| alma_mater = Dillard University
Howard University
Catholic University of America
| birth_date = {{birth date and age |1943|9|10|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = New Orleans
| thesis_title = Facilitating the Learning of General Abstract Denotative Concepts in Mathematics
| thesis_url = https://search.worldcat.org/title/04945799
| thesis_year = 1978
| workplaces = University of the District of Columbia
National Academy of Sciences
}}
Beverly Jacques Anderson (born September 10, 1943) is an American mathematician and emeritus professor at the University of the District of Columbia. In the 1990s she worked at the National Academy of Sciences as Director of Minority Programs for the Mathematical Sciences Education Board, and led the Making Mathematics Work for Minorities program.
Early life and education
Anderson grew up in the 7th Ward of New Orleans in a time of segregation.{{Cite web|url=https://awm-math.org/resources/careers/careers-that-count/|title=Careers That Count|website=Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM)|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-23}} She was born to Alvin Joseph and Dorothy Ann, who never finished high school.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/bookdetail.aspx?bookid=SKU-000185132|title=Cherished Memories|website=www.iuniverse.com|access-date=2019-03-23}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/08/30/sturdy-house-of-cards-span-classbankheadthe-jacques-sisters-of-new-orleans-play-the-hand-that-life-dealt-themspan/116811b6-6c8a-4278-a0ef-719aab269973/|title=Sturdy House of Cards The Jacques Sisters of New Orleans Play the Hand That Life Dealt Them|date=2006-08-30|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2019-03-23}} Anderson attended Valena C. Jones Normal School, an elementary school.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bslshoofly.com/1/post/2016/07/shared-history-august-2016.html|title=Shared History - August 2016|website=The Shoofly Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}} She attended a high school for African-Americans, where she excelled in mathematics. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Dillard University. She was the first member of her family to leave New Orleans when she moved to Howard University for graduate school. She completed a PhD at the Catholic University of America in 1978.{{cite thesis |title=Facilitating the Learning of General Abstract Denotative Concepts in Mathematics |date=1978 |publisher=Catholic University of America |type=PhD |id={{ProQuest|302914059}} }}
Research and career
Anderson began teaching mathematics at the University of the District of Columbia in 1969.{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverly-anderson-6761a427/|title=Dr. Anderson's LinkedIn page|last=LinkedIn|website=LinkedIn|language=en|access-date=2020-10-01}} She was awarded one of the faculty awards from the White House Initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/11/10/cancer-society-award/65b8db00-4c65-4079-963d-5dcb5fc22dfe/|title=CANCER SOCIETY AWARD|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2019-03-23}} She took a leave of absence to join the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 1988, where she launched the Making Mathematics Work for Minorities program.{{Cite journal|last=Anderson|first=Beverly J.|date=1990|title=Minorities and Mathematics: The New Frontier and Challenge of the Nineties|journal=The Journal of Negro Education|volume=59|issue=3|pages=260–272|doi=10.2307/2295562|jstor=2295562}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/pubs/focus/past_issues/FOCUS_10_4.pdf|title=FOCUS: MAA|website=MAA|access-date=23 March 2019}} The program had three aims: to attract national attention to the need for minority students in mathematics, to identify best practice in mathematics education for minority students and develop a national strategy and alliance to improve mathematics education. She ran a series of workshops around the country, sharing ideas about how to help minorities excel in mathematics.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUMrAAAAYAAJ&q=beverly+anderson+mathematics&pg=PA24|title=Making Mathematics Work for Minorities: Proceedings of the Region I Workshop|date=1989|publisher=National Academies|isbn=978-0-309-31837-2 |language=en}} Anderson argued that teaching mathematics without acknowledging the cultural bias that favoured students aligned with European tradition could significantly disadvantage people of colour.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4nHBQAAQBAJ&q=%22Beverly+Anderson%22+mathematics&pg=PA204|title=Multicultural Curriculum: New Directions for Social Theory, Practice, and Policy|last1=Mahalingam|first1=Ram|last2=McCarthy|first2=Cameron|date=2013-10-28|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136052224|language=en}}
Anderson identified that minority students enrolled in two-year college programs were 20% less likely to earn a bachelor's degree than those who started in four-year programs.{{Cite book|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/5551535|title=Community Colleges: Promises or Preclusions|last=Anderson|first=Beverly J.|date=1991|publisher=Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse|location=Washington, D.C.}} She emphasized that school mathematics programs needed to be maintained long-term, for magnet schools to support the teaching profession and for comprehensive four-year college programs.{{Cite book|title=What has been done and what more must be done to recruit minorities in teaching mathematics|author=Anderson, Beverly J.|date=1992|publisher=[publisher not identified]|oclc=43536970}}
In her 40-year career at the University of the District of Columbia, Anderson was a Professor of Mathematics, Mathematics Department Chair, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She was made Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs in 1997;{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/maryland/laurel/three-new-appointees-fill-out-prince-georges-school-board|title=Three New Appointees Fill Out Prince George's School Board|date=2013-06-18|website=Laurel, MD Patch|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/news/pressrel/1999/99_36.html|title=NASA - NASA GRC News Release 99-36|website=www.nasa.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-03-23}} however her appointment as provost was rescinded in 1999 after it was deemed to have been made without a proper search.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/07/02/provost-removed-because-national-search-not-done/68ba9b0b-6ee9-4c72-b551-048753c51ad8/|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Provost Removed Because National Search Not Done|first=Valerie|last=Strauss|date=July 2, 1999}} She remained as a consultant on the National Academy of Sciences mathematics education program, serving as a consultant for the Everybody Counts report in 2000.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/everybodycountsr0000unse|title=Read "Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education" at NAP.edu|language=en|doi=10.17226/1199|year=1989|isbn=978-0-309-03977-2|url-access=registration}} In 2013 Anderson was appointed to the Prince George's County School Board.
References
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Category:African-American mathematicians
Category:African-American women mathematicians
Category:20th-century American women mathematicians
Category:20th-century American mathematicians
Category:University of the District of Columbia faculty
Category:Dillard University alumni
Category:Howard University alumni
Category:Catholic University of America alumni
Category:21st-century African-American academics
Category:21st-century American academics
Category:20th-century African-American academics
Category:20th-century American academics