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About the Department
The Mathematics department teaches a full range of service and major classes and currently has about 5-10 graduates per year. All math majors complete an undergraduate research project with presentations and written reports. Bucking the national trend, our department has doubled its output of majors in the last five years and we intend to continue growing.
Being a faculty member at Western State College of Colorado provides an excellent opportunity to enhance and expand teaching skills. The focus here is on the students and developing innovative teaching techniques. The class sizes are small. We have state of the art classrooms with full multi-media capabilities. Several classrooms are equipped with computer terminals, allowing an interactive environment for the students and instructors to explore. Currently faculty use graphing calculators, Mathematica, Excel, and Geometer's Sketchpad as well as the web in their classes.
About the School
Western State College is a collection of about 2400 students and 100 faculty situated in a mountain valley at 7700 ft. Our student body is largely traditional aged with many students from out of state drawn to the outdoor activites allowed by our location.
At Western we also enjoy regular interaction with faculty members from other disciplines, where we share ideas and develop interdisciplinary projects. The school also has affordable faculty apartments that provide convenient lease-free housing.
About the Area
The Gunnison Valley is nicely isolated in a county with 83% public land. There are two major ski resorts (Monarch and Crested Butte) within 45 minutes, a white water park in town, excellent rock and ice climbing nearby, supurb trout fishing, and limitless mountain trails for skiing, hiking, biking, and running.
In addition to outdoor recreation there are two art centers which put on shows of local artists and performers as well as regional touring acts. Crested Butte hosts many festivals during the summer and there are weekly outdoor music programs running in Gunnison and Crested Butte.
The college itself adds to the mix with active theater, art, and music programs, an annual conference on water allocation issues, and a symposium of environmental studies projects. And of course the students provide a nice college town vibe and support a great sandwich shop, coffee shop, and brewpub.
Of course nicely isolated also means isolated. We are 4 1/2 hours and two passes away from Denver and the nearest mall is two hours away. While a T1 line brings the world closer it is still kept a generous arm's length away.
The Search Committee
There are four members on the Mathematics Search Committee. So that you will know who is on the phone we will provide a little information.Leila Calkins
Leila Calkins is an Assistant Professor in Mathematics and a member of the local school board. Her specialities include math education, probability and statistics. Her hobbies include golf, cooking, and St. Louis Cardinals baseball.
Andy Keck
Andy Keck is a Professor in Mathematics and Computer Science. His specialities include biological modeling, signal analysis, and pattern formation problems. His hobbies include music (mandolin and guitar), mountain biking, backpacking, skiing, and rafting.
Heidi Keck
Heidi Keck is a Professor in Mathematics and chair of the department. Her speciality is math education. She enjoys trying to grow vegetables and flowers at high altitude, has more than 50 houseplants, and has two great kids.
Bob Cohen
Bob Cohen is an Assistant Professor in Mathematics. His specialties include functional analysis and operator algebras. In his free time he enjoys playing the guitar, snowboarding, and traveling.