History

Since its founding in 1971 by a small but passionate group of women mathematicians, the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) has grown into the leading national society for women in the mathematical sciences, and is one of the 16 societies comprising the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences. AWM’s programs not only support those who participate in them directly, but also help influence the mathematics culture more generally, so that young women entering the field today encounter an environment that is more nurturing than that of the 1970s and 1980s. AWM has played a critical role in increasing the presence and visibility of women in the mathematical sciences.

Select Articles about AWM

AWM Through the Decades: A Chronology of the First Fifty Years

AWM Through the Decades: A Chronology of the First Fifty Years
* Janet L. Beery, Sarah J. Greenwald, and Cathy Kessel

This is the first chapter of the AWM Springer series book Fifty Years of Women in Mathematics (2022).

A Brief History

A Brief History of the Association for Women in Mathematics: The Presidents’ Perspectives, Lenore Blum, Notices of the American Mathematical Society Special Issue on Women in Mathematics, 38(7), Sept 1991, pp. 6 – 11. This article by former AWM President Lenore Blum chronicles the history of AWM, one of the most influential organizations for promoting women in mathematics. A technical report of a talk with this title presented at the 20th anniversary celebration of the AWM in January of 1991 is available here.

AWM in the 1980s and 1990s

Emmy Noether Centennial Celebration, March 16 – 19, 1982, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA. This was a celebration organized by AWM on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Emmy Noether.
AWM in the 1990s: A Recent History of the Association for Women in Mathematics, Jean E. Taylor and Sylvia Wiegand, Dec 1998 – This article appeared in Notices, vol. 46, no. 1 (Jan 1999). It explores the AWM activities during the 1990s.
Julia Robinson Celebration of Women in Mathematics Conference, July 1 – 3, 1996, MSRI, Berkeley, CA. This was a conference organized by the Association for Women in Mathematics to honor the late logician Julia Robinson and was part of the AWM 25th Anniversary celebrations.
Olga Taussky Todd Celebration of Careers in Mathematics, July 16 – 18, 1999, MSRI, Berkeley, CA. This was a conference organized by the AWM in honor of Olga Taussky Todd who died in 1995.

A Personal View

Gray, Mary. “The Association for Women in Mathematics—A Personal View.” The Mathematical Intelligencer 13(4), 1991, pp. 6–11.

This article was written by Mary Gray, the first president of AWM. You need a subscription to Springer Links to access the full article.

The AWM: How and Why It Was Founded, and Why It's Still Needed in the 21st Century

Greenwald, Sarah J, Anne M. Leggett, and Jill E. Thomley

The Association for Women in Mathematics: How and Why It Was Founded, and Why It’s Still Needed in the 21st Century, The Mathematical Intelligencer September 2015, 37(3), pp. 11-21.

The first two authors of this article are Associate Editor and Editor, respectively, of the AWM Newsletter. You need a subscription to Springer Link to access the full article.

AWM Officers

A historical list of the AWM’s past and present board members, from 1971 to Present.

Presidents

Mary W. Gray, 1971-1973

Alice T. Schafer, 1973-1975

Lenore Blum, 1975-1978

Judith Roitman, 1978-1981

Bhama Srinivasan, 1981-1983

Linda P. Rothschild, 1983-1985

Linda Keen, 1985-1987

Rhonda J. Hughes, 1987-1989

Jill P. Mesirov, 1989-1991

Carol Wood, 1991-1993

Cora Sadosky, 1993-1995

Chuu-Lian Terng, 1995-1997

Sylvia M. Wiegand, 1997-1999

Jean E. Taylor, 1999-2001

Suzanne Lenhart, 2001-2003

Carolyn Gordon, 2003-2005

Barbara Keyfitz, 2005-2007

Cathy Kessel, 2007-2009

Georgia Benkart, 2009-2011

Jill Pipher, 2011-2013

Ruth Charney, 2013-2015

Kristin Lauter, 2015-2017

Ami Radunskaya, 2017-2019

Ruth Haas, 2019-2021

Kathryn Leonard, 2021-2023

Talitha Washington, 2023-2025

Newsletter Editor

Mary Gray, 1971-1975

Alice T. Schafer, 1975

Judith Roitman, 1975-1977

Anne Leggett, 1977-Present

Sarah Greenwald (Associate Newsletter Editor), 2011-Present

Treasurers

Donna Beers 1979 – 1983

Lynnell Stern 1984 – 1986

Jenny Bagalivo, 1987 – 1991

Beth Ruskai, 1991

Donna Beers, 1991

Jenny Baglivo, 1991

Judy Green, 1992 – 1996

Kay Smith, 1996 – 1997

Amy Cohen, 1997 – 2001

Mary Ann Horn, 2001 – 2004

Rebecca Herb, 2004 – 2012

Ellen Kirkman, 2012 – 2020

Mary Shepherd 2020 –

Meeting Coordinators

Bettye Anne Case, 1984-2015

Kathryn Leonard, 2015-2018

Alina Bucur, 2018-Present

Clerks

Martha Jaffe, 1991

Jenny Baglivo, 1992-1999

Sue Geller, 1999-2001

Renee Fister, 2001-2003

Maura Mast, 2003-2011

Rebecca Segal, 2011-2015

Janet Beery, 2015-2022

Alejandra Alvarado, 2022-present

Web Editors/Media Coordinators

The Web Editor became a member a the Executive Committee in 2003. With the update of the Bylaws of the AWM in 2016 the Web Editor position was replaced by the Media Coordinator position. The Media Coordinates coordinates AWM’s presence on the Web, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets.

Judy Walker

Tamara G. Kolda

Shunhui Zhu

Holly Gaff ~2003 – 1/31/2012

Adriana Salerno, 2/1/15 – 1/31/17

Joanna Wares, 2/1/17 – 1/31/19

Marie Vitulli, 2/1/19 – 3/31/20

Denise Rangel Tracy 4/1/20 –

Executive Director

Lori Kenschaft, 1987 – 1988

Tracy O’Brien, 1988

Patricia Cross, 1988 – 1991

Jodi Beldotti, 1992 – 1993

Ginny Reinhart, 1993 – 1994

Joanna Wood Schot, 1994 – 1995

Carol A. Tascione, 1996 – 1997

Lesley Lee Francis, 1997

Jennifer Quinn, 2005 – 2007

Maeve McCarthy, 2008 – 2011

Magnhild Lien, 2012 – 2018

Karoline Pershell, 2018 – 2020

Darla Kremer 2020 –

Is something missing from this page? Email awm@awm-math.org with information updates or references.