Dr. H. Joseph Straight is one of six members of the Mathematical Association of America who were honored this month with Certificates of Meritorious Service from the MAA.
Dr. Straight, professor of mathematics at SUNY Fredonia, was recognized for his ongoing service to both Seaway Section of the MAA and the MAA nationally. He has held many offices in the Seaway Section: program chair, chair, governor, and newsletter editor. He is an active member of the MAA Committee on Sections and the Committee on Minicourses. Professor Straight received his Ph.D. from Western Michigan University in graph theory under Donald Lick and has been on the faculty at SUNY Fredonia since 1977.
Dr. Straight said he was “much honored” by the recognition. “My involvement with the MAA and the Seaway Section has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional life. I attended my first Seaway Section meeting in 1973 with some of my professors from SUNY Fredonia, including Art Danese, Dick Dowds, Frank Olson, and Al Polimeni. After graduate school, as luck would have it, I ended up back at Fredonia and back in the Seaway Section, and attended meetings and contributed talks whenever I could. In 1990 Chuck Diminnie and Steve Cavior got me involved as an officer. I thank them for showing confidence in me and acknowledge their wise counsel, as well as that of Jack Graver, Rebecca Hill, and Don Trasher. I also thank Cheri Boyd, Ed Hoefer, Luise-Charlotte Kappe, Len Malinowski, Grace Orzech, and Bob Rogers for their assistance and unwavering dedication to the section.”
