RHIT professor making more women welcome in math

Sep. 14—Tracy Weyand remembers the day a high school Algebra II teacher changed the course of her life.

The math teacher wanted to meet with her and her mother, which Weyand described as "one of the scariest but also most definitive moments of my life."

She recalled being so nervous, she was shaking and wondering what she had done wrong to merit a teacher/parent conference.

But when Weyand and her mom met with the teacher, he told her mom, "Your daughter needs to be a math teacher." Weyand remembers "my jaw just dropping."

The high school math teacher had recognized Weyand's talent for math and her gift for helping others with complex formulas and problem-solving.

Today, Weyand is a professor of mathematics at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and she has been recognized by the Association for Women in Mathematics for her commitment to building communities in which women in math can thrive and feel welcome.

She is being honored with a service award, which the national group presents annually.

Shortly after joining the Rose-Hulman faculty in 2017, she helped found the institute's student AWM chapter and remains its faculty advisor. The group has club meetings, attends conferences and participates in social activities such as the campus annual Pi Day celebration.

Since 2018, Weyand also has helped the Rose-Hulman AWM chapter organize and host an annual Sonia Kovalevsky Math Day for Girls on campus, when visiting high school girls participate in mathematical-themed activities to encourage their interests in math.

Supporting women in math is important to Weyand. "It was hard for me to get here. There were lots of experiences I had that I don't want anyone else to have to go through," she said in an interview Tuesday.

It included being the only woman in graduate-level math classes "and feeling like you are representing all of women-kind, and if you fail, you're just proving that women can't do this," she said

Socially, she had a group she was happy and comfortable with, "but academically I would be the only woman in the room, " she recalled.

While no one overtly made her uncomfortable, at times someone might say something such as, "You must be really smart because you're the only woman."

Prior to that comment, she might not even have noticed it. But then, the pressure increased, although the pressure came from within her, she said.

She earned a doctorate in mathematics from Texas A&M University after achieving a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Central Florida.

So what's the key to helping women thrive in math and feel welcome?

One way is "by being more careful about what we say and what we do to make sure we're not accidentally putting that pressure on someone or singling someone out in the room," Weyand said.

Also, if there is a group those students feel comfortable with, "That group can get you through." And hopefully, as that group gets bigger, more prospective female math students will follow.

Weyand says girls in K-12 might be discouraged from math because of unintentional biases.

Jayden Foshee, a senior and math/data science major from Lafayette, said those girls very good at math often know what they want to do, but others "kind of good" at math may follow their peer group into other professions.

Foshee, president of the College's AWM chapter, has often been the only female in her higher level math classes at Rose-Hulman. She said Weyand has been a source of encouragement not only for her, but other students as well.

She hopes to pursue a career in data science and over the summer had an internship in cybersecurity with a consulting firm.

A major employer of mathematicians is the National Security Agency, Weyand said. Other jobs might be with government contractors, engineering firms, or a company such as Pixar which needs mathematicians to work with animators.

Other occupations can include the finance and insurance industries.

Rose-Hulman has 57 students, including 18 females, who have mathematics, biomath or data science as their primary or secondary academic majors.

The college also has 29 faculty in its math department, with eight of those being female.

Weyand will be honored at a reception during the American Mathematical Society's upcoming Joint Mathematics Meetings in Boston.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue.