Patricia Clark Kenschaft (March 25, 1940 – November 20, 2022) was an American mathematician. She was a professor of mathematics at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

. She is known as a prolific author of books on mathematics, as a founder of PRIMES, the Project for Resourceful Instruction of Mathematics in the Elementary School, and for her work for equity and diversity in mathematics.

Early life, education and career

Kenschaft was born in 1940 to political activist and history teacher Bertha Francis Clark and organic chemist John Randolph Clark. The family lived in Nutley. The eldest of four children, Kenschaft took on a nurturing in the household. Her brother, Bruce, was born with cognitive disabilities. This led to her mother and family becoming advocates for special education and state income taxes to better support school systems. Kenschaft graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 1961, earning a bachelor's degree with honors in mathematics and with minors in English, philosophy, and education. She earned a master's degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1963, and then returned to the University of Pennsylvania for doctoral studies, completing a Ph.D. in 1973, while in the same period raising a child and founding a nursery school in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

. Her dissertation, in

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (for example, Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics ...

, was ''Homogeneous

C^*

-Algebras over

S^n

'', and was supervised by Edward Effros. After working in adjunct positions at St. Elizabeth's College and

Bloomfield College Bloomfield College of Montclair State University is a public college in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Bloomfield, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is chartered by the State of New Jersey and Higher education accreditation in the United States, accre ...

, she joined the Montclair State faculty in 1973, and was promoted to full professor in 1988. She retired in 2005 and died in 2022.

Service to the profession

Kenschaft became the founding president of the New Jersey Association for Women in Mathematics in 1981 and of the New Jersey Faculty Forum in 1988. She chaired the Committee on Participation of Women 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 ...

(MAA) from 1987 to 1993, the Committee on Mathematics and the Environment of the MAA from 2000 to 2004, and the Equity and Diversity Integration Task Force of the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...

in 2003. She served as director of several projects to improve mathematics education in public schools, including PRIMES (Project for Resourceful Instruction of Mathematics in the Elementary School). Kenschaft hosted a live weekly radio talk show called "Math Medley" from 1998 - 2004.

Books

Kenschaft was the author of: *''Calculus: A Practical Approach'' (with Kenneth Kalmanson, Worth, 1975) *''Childbirth, Cooperative Style: Family Experience with Prepared Childbirth and Prenatal Classes'' (Exposition Press, 1977) *''Linear Mathematics: A Practical Approach'' (Worth, 1978) *''Mathematics: A Practical Approach'' (with Kenneth Kalmanson, Worth, 1978) *''Math Power: How to Help Your Child Love Math Even If You Don’t'' (Addison-Wesley, 1997; Dover, 2014) *''Mathematics for Human Survival'' (Whitter, 2002) *''Change Is Possible: Stories of Women and Minorities in Mathematics'' (American Mathematical Society, 2005) Additionally, she edited *''Winning Women into Mathematics'' (Mathematical Association of America, 1991) *''Environmental Mathematics in the Classroom'' (with Ben Fusaro, Mathematical Association of America, 2003)

Recognition

Kenschaft was the 2006 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

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 recognition of her long career of dedicated service to mathematics and mathematics education" and for her work "writing about, speaking about, and working for mathematics and mathematics education in the areas of K–12 education, the environment, affirmative action and equity, and public awareness of the importance of mathematics in society". In 2012, she received the Sr. Stephanie Sloyan Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey section of the

. She was the 2013 Falconer Lecturer of the

and

, speaking on "Improving Equity and Education: Why and How". Kenshaft was selected a Fellow of the

in the Class of 2021 "''for almost 50 years of sustained and lasting commitment to the advancement of underrepresented groups in the mathematical sciences, especially girls, women, and African Americans. Her extensive service, publications, and outreach bring to light racism, sexism, and inequities, always delivered with the message that positive change is possible''".

References

External links

Archive of Home page at MontclairArchive of Personal home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenschaft, Patricia Clark 1940 births Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Swarthmore College alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Montclair State University faculty Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics 21st-century American women mathematicians 20th-century American women mathematicians