Our department hosts numerous events throughout the year. These include the annual Asprey Lecture and Henry Seely White Lectures, the Life After VAssar (LAVA) series, and a department Colloquium series. Other highlights include DataFest, and outreach events such as Math Jam (affiliated with the Julia Robinson Math Festival) and Vassar Science Scholars Program. Student groups, including the majors committee and the Association for Women in Mathematics, also organize social activities for students and faculty.
Asprey Lecture Series
The Asprey Lecture Series is an annual series of lectures featuring the country’s most prominent mathematicians. The lecture series is in honor of Winifred Asprey, a Vassar graduate who taught mathematics and computer science at Vassar for 38 years before her retirement in 1982. Professor Asprey was one of the most admired members of the Vassar faculty and was nationally recognized as a spokesperson for mathematics and computer science. She founded Vassar’s Computer Center in the mid-60’s—one of the first such at a liberal arts college. She continued to live in the Poughkeepsie area until her death in 2007.
To see the current academic year’s Asprey Lecturer as well as past Lecturers, visit the Asprey Lecture Series page.
Henry Seely White Lecture (HSW) Series
The Henry Seely White Lecture Series is an annual series of lectures featuring the country’s most prominent figures in the mathematical sciences. The lecture series is in honor of Henry Seely White (1861-1943), who was appointed Professor and Chair of the Vassar Mathematics Department in 1904. Quoting from the department history written by John McCleary:
“White finished his undergraduate studies at Wesleyan University in 1882 and went to Göttingen where he received a PhD in 1891 under Felix Klein (1849-1925). White taught at Clark University for two years before he was called to Northwestern University where he worked until joining the Vassar faculty in 1905. In Chicago he was involved in organizing the first International Congress of Mathematicians, which took place in conjunction with the famous World Exposition of 1893. White was instrumental in bringing Klein to lecture at the World’s Fair. A distinguished geometer, White served as the president of the American Mathematical Society 1906-1908 and he was named a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in 1915.”
To see the current academic year’s Henry Seely White Lecturer as well as past Lecturers, visit the HSW Lecture Series page.
Colloquium Series
The department colloquium is a series of talks given by mathematicians and statisticians aimed at an undergraduate audience. Everyone is welcome to attend!
To see the current academic year’s Colloquium schedule, visit the Colloquium Series page.
LAVA Talk Series
LAVA (Life After VAssar) is a series of informal conversations with Vassar alums and friends that will introduce math & statistics students to possible opportunities and directions in life after graduation. Everyone is welcome to attend!
To see the current academic year’s LAVA schedule and past LAVA talks, visit the LAVA Talk Series page.
DataFest
DataFest is a a 48-hour data competition open to all students at Vassar. Since 2016, It’s been held annually at Vassar, in the spring semester. DataFest is sponsored by the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, along with other departments, programs, and offices across campus. For more details, visit the DataFest page.
Data Science & Society Colloquium Series
The Data Science & Society (DSS) Initiative at Vassar, an effort among departments and programs across campus, hosts a colloquium series open to anyone. For the DSS colloquium schedule, visit the DSS Colloquium Schedule page.