Gloria Conyers Hewitt was born in Sumter, Southern California on 26th October 1935. She is currently 80 years old. She is the fourth born in a family of four and has three older brothers Emmet, John, and James. All her brothers successfully completed college and one was a systems analyst, another a physician while the other was a sociologist (Morrow and Perl, 1998). Her parents, Crenella (a teacher) and Emmet (had a degree in Education from Morris College and worked at the University’s printing office), were major contributors to her success and focused on education as they often reminded her that education was the only salvation for black people. Both parents successfully advocated the city to build a public school. After the school had been built after the land was donated, Hewitt’s mother got the job as a teacher in the school after three years.
Gloria Conyers Education
Gloria was taught her first grade by her mother in their living room. She then proceeded through second grade to seventh grade in a public school where she graduated in 1948. Walking to and from school daily, she hated school probably because it is where she first encountered arithmetic. She narrates of an incident in second grade where her teacher slapped her for refusing to do her arithmetic homework. She then proceeded to a boarding high school, Mather Academy (traditionally a black co-educational school) where she graduated in 1952 (Williams, 2001). During her high school years, her grades in arithmetic courses including geometry and algebra rarely improved. She then enrolled at Fisk University for her undergraduate the same year. Here, her career choices were a teacher, accountant or nurse. However, she did not do well in her English and Arithmetic placement examinations. She was consequently placed in the ‘slow’ mathematics section which she found as too easy for her. At that point, she met the Mathematics department Chair Dr. Lee Lorch who encouraged her to take calculus and became her mentor. Professor Lorch was also a mentor to two African American students who successfully earned their doctorates in Mathematics (Morrow and Perl, 1998). During her study for her undergraduate, her parents and study group (which comprised primarily of eight students-all white males who were extra ordinarily supportive) was very instrumental in her success
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She was awarded her bachelor’s degree in Secondary Mathematics Education in 1956. She then realized she did not have any interest in teaching high school and through the assistance of her Professor Lorch, she was offered to attend the University of Washington in Seattle to study Mathematics. She received her Master of Science in Mathematics degree from the institution in 1960 (Latimore, 2001).Hewitt then proceeded to complete her doctorate in Direct and Reverse limits of Abstract Algebra from the University of Washington in 1962.
Facts about Gloria Conyers
According to Morrow and Perl (1998), Gloria became the third African-American woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in Mathematics after Evelyn Boyd Granville in 1949 from Yale University and Marjorie Lee Brownie from the University of Michigan similarly in 1949.Four years after being awarded her doctorate, Gloria received a prestigious award from The National Science Foundation postdoctoral Science Faculty Fellowship. One of her major accomplishments is also the fact that she was elected board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America.
Gloria Conyers Contributions to Calculus
Gloria’s interest in Calculus began as she was studying her undergraduate. The then chairman department, Lee Lorch successfully persuaded her in taking Calculus as a major. She really developed an interest in the subject and according to Latimore (2001), she worked on a single problem for two weeks. She also narrates how she did calculus problems as a recreation in the campus as students ridiculed her.
Her interests in Calculus spanned through her professional life. Hewitt worked as a faculty consultant, table leader and a reader for the advanced placement calculus examinations for twelve years. Her contributions to the Advanced Placement Calculus courses are also recognized as she worked for four years (1987-1991) on the Calculus Development Committee where she would write examinations (Educational Testing Service Graduate Record Examination Committee) as well as developed the syllabi (Warren, 1999). Dr. Hewitt interests in calculus saw her personally working with students who had failed in their exams. She carefully studied her students while doing the sums and she also assisted them to concentrate on the math problem. She also testifies that nearly all her students got A’s, and B’s on the subject (Chipman, Brush and Wilson, 1985). Between 1991 and 1995, Hewitt was a member of the AP Calculus Test Development
Contributions Gloria has made to the World Today
Gloria has based her works on two main mathematical subjects namely group theory and abstract algebra of which eight are complete and published whereas twenty one are unpublished. She has also been a consultant to numerous academic institutions, companies, national committees and professional organizations including the National Science Foundation, the National Security Agency, the Mathematical Association of America, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), National Association of Mathematicians (NAM), American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the National Academy of Sciences (Williams, 2001). She was also chair of the Educational Testing Service's Graduate Record Examination Committee. During the Women of Mathematics Tour held in Beijing, China her publication she had co-authored was displayed.
During her 38 year tenure at Montana University, she has served in various posts including visiting lecturer, associate director, Director, Executive Council, Committee Chair and Board of Governors of various departments. From 1995 to 1999 she served as Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University. The Board of Regents of Montana University (1999) acknowledges Gloria as a demanding and inspirational lecturer during her tenure at the University.
Hewitt’s service as the Chair of the Department of Mathematical sciences between 1995 and 1999, she raised over $500,000 to empower new innovative programs that supported undergraduate and graduate students studying mathematics. Hewitt also oversaw the renovation and modernization of the mathematics building at the University.
How Gloria has impacted the World of Math
Gloria Hewitt’s career has had an enormous impact on the math community. According to Kenschaft (1981), she was the first among the first four African-Americans to have a doctorate to witness the good deeds of a remarkable series of white men in her career. Through the guidance of her lecturer, Lee Lorch, a white Jewish, who had lost two jobs as a professor due to his support of racial equity, she successfully got her job as a lecturer. As much as her study under Lee Lorch was limited at Fisk University, he continued to be her mentor even after losing his position at the university. She is living proof that women, especially of minority groups, can achieve remarkable career heights, especially through guidance. From her experience, we can learn that teachers can inspire potential students to become mathematicians.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Gloria Conyers is a great African-American woman as far Mathematics is concerned. Her contribution towards Math is immense, and she serves as a role model to many people having been the third Black-American female to excel with a Ph.D. in Mathematics. She has played many roles in various institutions, as an instructor, consultant and notably as a publisher in the mathematical field.
References
Chipman, S. F., Brush, L. R., & Wilson, D. M. (1985). Women and mathematics: Balancing the
equation . Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Williams, W. (2008). Black Women in Mathematics: Gloria Conyers Hewitt . Retrieved from http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/PEEPS/hewitt_gloriac.html
Kenschaft, P. C. (1981). Black Women in Mathematics in the United States. The American
Mathematical Monthly, 88 (8), 592-599 . doi:10.2307/2320508
Lattimore, R. (2001). Gloria Hewitt: Mathematician. Mathematics Teacher , 94 (1): 9-13
Morrow, C., & Perl, T. (1998). Notable women in mathematics: A biographical dictionary .
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Warren, W. (1999). Black women scientists in the United States . Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
