James A. Donaldson

James Ashley Donaldson (April 17, 1941 — October 18, 2019) was an American mathematician. He was a professor at Howard University, where he was instrumental in establishing a PhD program in mathematics. He also helped found the National Association of Mathematicians.

James A. Donaldson
Born(1941-04-17)April 17, 1941
DiedOctober 18, 2019(2019-10-18) (aged 78)
Washington D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
  • Lincoln University (AB)
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (MS, PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsHoward University

Education and career

Donaldson was born in on April 17, 1941 on a farm near Tallahassee, Florida, where he grew up attending segregated schools.[1][2] In the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, he took the advice of his high school mathematics teacher to attend college in the northern United States, where he attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.[3] After graduating from Lincoln with a AB in mathematics in 1961, he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign for his graduate work, where he completed an MS degree in 1963, and a PhD in 1965.[1][4] His PhD thesis on partial differential equations was titled Integral Representations of the Extended Airy Integral Type for the Modified Bessel Function, and was supervised by Ray Gartner Langebartel.[5]

Following his PhD, Donaldson had shorter term appointments at Southern University, Howard University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of New Mexico.[4] He returned to Howard University in 1971 as a professor, where he remained for most of the rest of his career.[6] He served as chair of the mathematics department from 1972 until 1990, in which role he was instrumental in developing a PhD program in mathematics. Howard's program, established in 1976, was the first PhD program in mathematics at a historically black college or university.[1][6][7] In the 1998—1999 school year, Donaldson took a leave of absence from Howard to serve as the acting president of his alma mater Lincoln University.[3][8] From 1999 until 2012, he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.[1][6] Donaldson retired and was granted emeritus status in 2013.[8]

Organizational work

In 1969, Donaldson was one of the founding members of the National Association of Mathematicians, the professional society promoting mathematical development of underrepresented minorities. He served as the first editor of the newsletter of that organization, and was a member of its board of directors from 1984—1994.[1][9] Donaldson served on the American Mathematical Society Council.[1]

Death

Donaldson died of heart disease on October 18, 2019 at his home in Washington D.C.[1][8]

Awards and honors

In 2018, Donaldson received an honorary doctoral degree from his former undergraduate instition, Lincoln University.[1][3] In 2021, a Special Session in Donaldson's honor was held at the Joint Mathematics Meetings.[10]

References
  1. Hunt, Fern Y; Wilson, Robin T; Williams, Daniel A; Gray, Mary; Davis, Chandler; Herron, Isom; Brooks, Sean (February 1, 2021). "James A. Donaldson — Black Mathematician, Advocate, Gentleman (1941–2019)". Notices of the American Mathematical Society. American Mathematical Society (AMS). 68 (02). doi:10.1090/noti2222. ISSN 0002-9920.
  2. "Interview with James Donaldson". The HistoryMakers. March 28, 2013.
  3. "Lincoln University Celebrates The Life Of Dr. James A. Donaldson '61, Educator And Mathematician". News. Lincoln University. October 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  4. "James Ashley Donaldson". Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  5. James Ashley Donaldson at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  6. "Celebrating the Life of James A. Donaldson, Ph.D." Newsroom. Howard University. October 21, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  7. Ortega, Omayra; Lawrence, Emille Davie; Goins, Edray Herber (December 10, 2020). The Golden Anniversary Celebration of the National Association of Mathematicians. American Mathematical Society. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4704-5130-1.
  8. "In Memoriam: James A. Donaldson, 1941-2019". Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. October 29, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  9. Ortega, Omayra; Lawrence, Emille Davie; Goins, Edray Herber (December 10, 2020). The Golden Anniversary Celebration of the National Association of Mathematicians. American Mathematical Society. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-1-4704-5130-1.
  10. "AMS-NAM Joint Special Session on Celebrating the Mathematical Legacy of Dr. James A. Donaldson". Joint Mathematics Meetings. January 2021.
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