Annie Laurer Alexander Selden is an expert in

mathematics education In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out Scholarly method, scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical know ...

. She is a professor emeritus at

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a Public university, public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of D ...

, and an adjunct professor at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

. She was one of the original founders of the

Association for Women in Mathematics The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity for and the equal treatment o ...

in 1971.

Education

Born as Annie Louise Laurer, she graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1959, learned to program computers in a summer job at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

Endicott, New York Endicott is a Village (New York), village within the town of Union, New York, Union in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton metropolitan area. The village is named after ...

, and traveled to the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

to study mathematics as a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

. With the support of the

Woodrow Wilson Foundation The Woodrow Wilson Foundation was an educational non-profit created in 1921, organized under the laws of New York, for the "perpetuation of Wilson's ideals" via periodic grants to worthy groups and individuals. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the chai ...

, she earned a master's degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1962. Delayed by marriage and two children, she completed her Ph.D. from

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York. Clarkson has additional graduate programs and research facilities in the New York Capital District. It was established in 1896 and enrolled over 4 ...

in 1974. She published her dissertation, ''Bisimple ω-semigroups in the locally compact setting'', under the name Annie Laurer Alexander. It was supervised by John Selden Jr., whom she later married as her second husband.

Career

Although Selden originally intended to be a research mathematician, the job market at the time of her graduation led her to teach abroad, and the experience of teaching mathematics to non-native English speakers led her to become interested in mathematics education. She taught at the

State University of New York at Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or simply Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam (village), New York, Potsdam, New York, United States. Founded in 1816, it is the northernmost member of the State University of New Yo ...

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

in Turkey, and

Bayero University Kano The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from university college to university. It is the first university i ...

in Nigeria, before joining Tennessee Technological University in 1985. She retired and moved to New Mexico in 2003.

Awards and honors

In 2002, Selden was the winner of the

Louise Hay Award The Louise Hay Award is a mathematics award planned in 1990 and first issued in 1991 by the Association for Women in Mathematics in recognition of contributions as a math educator. The award was created in honor of Louise Hay. Recipients The fo ...

of the

, and the

AWM/MAA Falconer Lecturer The Etta Z. Falconer Lecture is an award and lecture series which honors "women who have made distinguished contributions to the mathematical sciences or mathematics education". It is sponsored by the Association for Women in Mathematics and the M ...

. She was elected as a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

in 2003. The Annie and John Selden Prize of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

is named after Selden and her husband.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selden, Annie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American mathematicians American mathematics educators Oberlin College alumni Yale University alumni Clarkson University alumni State University of New York at Potsdam faculty Hampden–Sydney College faculty Academic staff of Boğaziçi University Academic staff of Bayero University Kano Tennessee Technological University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 20th-century American mathematicians 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians