Dr. Brandy Wiegers

:(

I have seen so many students' lives improved because of the McNair program and the amazing mentors involved in keeping the program going. Please check out what you can do to support. coenet.org/wp-content/u...

Trump Administration Withholds Millions for TRIO Programs Nonprofits that advocate for first-gen students say that without the federally funded programs, college could become unattainable for hundreds of thousands of students.

I anticipated that Trio programs would run into struggles at some point but I had hopes that it wouldn't. These programs have changed my students' lives!!!!!!

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

TLDR: Trump Administration Withholds $660M for College Access Programs :(

MAA Focus August/September 2025 Page 42

I wrote a quick @joinmaa.bsky.social toolkit article about how to support new faculty -it was fun to share and I hope it's useful.
digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/publication/...

Photo of blue soap spilled on graph paper

Photo of blue soap messily spilled on graph paper

Photo of worksheet activity

Starting Calculus with hands on activity focused on group work and also remembering the fun I had working with SFSU colleagues making these activities.

Day 1 of grade 39 (12+5+6+5+9+2+ this year)

Helpful handout from the Math Circle session about - a fun activity
drive.google.com/file/d/1HTc3...

#mathfest math circles contributed papers. First session: graph challenges. Graph with 3 connected components, graph of our table, cultural graph: stickies about what makes us who we are, edges for connections. Present ideas/theorems as true facts or guesses about their graphs and data.

Delighted to be doing #MathCircles activities at #MathFest25 session about Community Responsive Math Circle Activities

eppro02.ativ.me/appinfo.php?... #MAAthFest

Excited to be at the #MathFest25 Congress meeting to hear about the Advocacy work that @joinmaa.bsky.social is doing, especially to protect STEM education and NSF work. CHeck it out

maa.org/advocacy/

Project NExT Teaching Support Group Facilitator Application, 2025-2026 As part of our continuing support for Project NExT Fellows, we’re creating teaching support groups. Groups will be made up of one facilitator and 4-7 Fellows, and will meet virtually once a month to d...

Compensation for facilitation for the 2025-2026 academic year is $1000. To apply, please complete this form by July 5, 2025.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Questions? Please contact Stephanie Salomone at sasalomone@gmail.com

Each facilitator will be responsible for:
* Meeting with your TSG at MathFest 2025 (if the facilitator is attending)
* Scheduling & leading monthly virtual meetings,
* Providing email support for Fellows
* Tracking & reporting engagement in the group
* Responding to feedback.

Content for the monthly meetings will be provided, with the knowledge that discussions on emergent issues may take precedence over our plan.

NExT has created teaching support groups for new fellows, made up of one facilitator and 4-7 Fellows that meet virtually monthly throughout the year to discuss issues, act as thought partners to construct solutions, share ideas, and provide ongoing support for teaching evaluation and improvement

NExT is looking for 2025-2026 NExT Teaching Support Group Facilitators - Experienced @joinmaa.bsky.social faculty should consider applying, I've done it the last two years and it's been inspirational to provide support to the next group of faculty

This is a nuanced article about college student #reading by Beth McMurtrie. (I'm quoted toward the end.)

#highered

Thread of ways to actually appreciate teachers.

About EES The NSF Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) aims to provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds, especially those historically underrepresented in science and engineering.

NSF’s entire Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EDU/EES), which “aims to provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to actively participate and excel in STEM disciplines” and some of it congressionally mandated, was just notified they will be RIFed. www.nsf.gov/edu/ees/about

Great article: Questions to Ask to Identify a Supportive Graduate Program as a Woman or Gender Minority in Math

maa.org/math-values/...

Save the Date TODOS 2026 June 25-26 Orange County CA

SAVE THE DATE
This will be a powerful continuation of the movement to catalyze, cultivate, & expand critical transformation in mathematics education — bringing together educators, researchers, advocates, and community leaders committed to justice and equity in math for ALL.
#MathEquity
#iTeachMath

Photo of woman with glasses and mask and t-mobile stadium in Seattle in background

If you see this, post the most recent photo of yourself from your camera roll. No cheating!

Q: Is this an idea that is going to take administrative ridiculousness?

Probably. I can imagine it's going to involve sending money to a central group that is willing to administer. But here's the truth. Right now, I'm just feeling like we're all losing.

Q: What is the difference between this type of funding and me donating to the MAA or AIM?

I don't know, but it feels different when there is a face and a name that I can see that I am supporting. I just honestly would rather give more support to an immediate need rather than a blanket organization.

Q: What can I imagine funding?
I don't want to see REUs or summer camps go away. These are the ways of our future. I would give to a fund to support projects that have immediate needs. I am thinking of programs that have deans threatening to cancel due to uncertainty

The thing that doesn't work about this: I don't think we can set them up as loans. I think we have to think of it as orchestrating giving to math from those who can.

* If what you want to support doesn't get funded, the funds get repurposed to a similar cause. I think this is key because I can imagine that instead of this bringing us together, it will rip us further apart. The goal is to fund 1 at a time and then turn that support into future funding for others

So here is my proposal. What if we create a Kiva-type support for the BROAD mathematical community in this time of funding uncertainty? The aspects that make Kiva work are:
* Lots of opportunity for SMALL donations ($25 at a time).

I started donating regularly to Kiva over the pandemic because I had a support structure when so many people were needing one. Instead of putting it into stocks, I started putting support into people, and it just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling every month when I get an update.

At the same time, I received an email from Kiva today about the money I had available to support others. For those of you who haven't heard of it, Kiva is a microloan system set up to support real people who just need a little support to start a project.

I want to say thank you to those working with Spencer Foundation and others because I felt hope when I saw the MAA Spencer Foundation Emergency Funding that was posted this weekend. And I haven't felt hope related to our profession for a while. I have felt a lot of loss.

TLDR: What if we use all of our quantitatively able abilities to create a new community funding support for academic needs?