Organization Description

As the premier urban, public research university in the state, Virginia Commonwealth University’s mission is to advance knowledge and student success through its commitments to:

• An engaged, learner-centered environment that fosters inquiry, discovery and innovation in a global setting

• Research that expands the boundaries of new knowledge and creative expression and promotes translational applications to improve human health

• Interdisciplinary collaborations that bring new perspectives to complex problems and mobilize creative energies that advance innovation and solve global challenges

• Health care that strives to preserve and restore health for all people, to seek the cause and cure of diseases through groundbreaking research and to educate those who serve humanity

• Diversity that provides a climate of inclusion, a dedication to addressing disparities wherever they exist and an opportunity to explore and create in an environment of trust

• Sustainable university-community partnerships that enhance the educational, economic and cultural vitality of the communities VCU serves in Virginia and around the world

Participant Biographies

Afroditi Filippas, Ph. D. is the VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) CCAM (Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing) Senior Faculty Representative and a Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Filippas previously served as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering at VCU. In that role, she initiated and supported articulation agreements with Virginia Community Colleges, developed innovative programs, increased enrollment and retention and increased participation in STEM of women and Underrepresented Minorities. She also led the assessment efforts at the College. In her current role, Dr. Filippas will develop and support, through CCAM, public-private partnerships between academics from all Virginia institutions of higher learning and private companies. The collaborations will lead to innovative translational research projects in the area of data analytics and data science.

I am Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and I have faculty appointments in the VCU School of Engineering (electrical and computer engineering) and School of Education (teaching and learning). My research interests are in diversity, inclusion, and equity in higher education, STEM-H education, and biomedical signal/image processing. I have projects with elementary, middle, and high school students, secondary math and secondary science teachers, and underrepresented students in STEM majors. I am excited about the work of SUMMIT-P because so many of our students from underrepresented groups in STE majors (not our math folks) struggle with the math and thus it is important that we respond to their educational needs. Also as an engineer I am keenly aware of foundational mathematics skills our engineering students need. So glad the work of SUMMIT-P is getting under way.

On a personal note I have a 5 year old daughter, so most of my spare time is spent doing things with her.

Bill Haver Virginia Commonwealth University (retired; currently serving as a leader of and teaching in VCU’s masters degree program to prepare K-8 teachers to serve as coaches/mathematics specialists for teachers in their schools). 

My role in SUMMIT-P is to work with each of the participating institutions to assure that information concerning the work of the consortium is widely disseminated throughout the mathematics community. In addition my role is to encourage and support interactions and collaborations among participating institutions. I served as chair of CRAFTY and actively participated in the Curriculum Foundations project, recruiting hosts for the weekend disciplinary conferences, hosting two of the conferences, and editing reports. I believe the results of this project will serve as a useful tool as we carry out the work of SUMMIT-P. In my free time I am flipping houses with my son.

I am an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.  I typically teach numerical analysis and pdes at the senior or grad level, and biomath courses at all levels.  I also often teach Calc 3.  I serve as the faculty coordinator for College Algebra with the help of two of our full time instructors.  The VCU math department teaches a tremendous amount of service courses for students in Engineering, Sciences (large premed and prehealth group because VCU has a medical school), and Business.  Our current critical need is integration with the Engineering school, in particular with Calculus and Differential Equations. (But of course, all math courses are important!)

I am very active in AWM (Association for Women in Mathematics) and I am actively involved in their current NSF ADVANCE grant to help establish research networks for women mathematicians. I have two children, ages 6 (Dexter) and 2 (Alexander), which occupies my non-work time.  I also like to cook and bake.

2021 SUMMIT-P Annual Meeting Poster Submission

The mathematics department has collaborated with the engineering to improve student retention of content from mathematics courses into engineering courses, starting with differential equations. The project is now moving to work on calculus I, working with engineering as well as the science departments.