Below is the conclusion of my 1999 portfolio to support my application for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. It remains a powerful statement to me, and one that might provide some insight into my calling.

"Reflecting its heritage, Westfield State College stands proudly as a 'people's college.'"
-from the Westfield State College Mission, 1993-1998.

A "People's Mathematician"

[Academic Vice President] Dr. William Lopes has remarked that, “In each of the contractual areas, Professor Fleron has flourished. I am perhaps more enthusiastic about his reappointment and subsequent tenure recommendation than about any other faculty member in my time. While this recommendation may seem enthusiastic, it understates the accomplishment of this fine professor." Such high praise is certainly rewarding. It indicates that I am fulfilling the responsibilities of my career. I hope it reflects that what I am doing makes a difference on the Westfield State College campus. Yet my goals and aspirations transcend the formal responsibilities of an assistant or associate professor at a mid-sized state college campus.

Earlier in this century Albert Einstein was revered by the common (wo)man. He regularly wrote op-ed pieces in the New York Times and attempted to communicate not only the wonder of the universe around us but the wonder of thought, ideas, and education as well. He was not alone as an intellectual hero of the times.

Growing up I was fortunate to have my own intellectual hero, the astronomer Carl Sagan. His book and PBS series Cosmos captivated the wonder and marvel that is the universe. He captured my imagination and changed my life by drawing me to his academic home at Cornell University.

We still have heroes, often the sports stars like Mighty Mark McGuire and Slammin’ Sammy Sosa. But, sadly, we have no intellectual heroes of comparable stature.

When Dr. Martin Henley invited me to give the inaugural “Honors Brown Bag Symposium” two years ago he said he invited me to speak because “I was the Carl Sagan of mathematics.” This is certainly a dramatic overstatement. I am no Carl Sagan. However, this complement is the most compelling affirmation of my efforts that I could receive.

Yet this complement is often reflected in my day to day efforts to make progress toward the goals laid out in Section 0. It is reflected in the journals of Jose Average and Yolanda Ordinary where they describe their mathematical growth in Mathematical Explorations. (See Part IV, Section 1.) It is reflected in the face of Randall Vaill, a legally blind computer science major, as the audience at his presentation at the Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference clamored to get a copy of his paper detailing a generalization of Fermat’s Last Theorem that our Senior Seminar had formulated and proved. (See Part IV, Section 3) It is reflected in the many voice and email messages I received following my hour-long talk on the White Buffalo on WNNZ. (See Part V, Section 4.) It is reflected in face of Julie Arrison, a pre-service elementary school teacher who struggled in my Foundations: Sets and Logic course, every time I tell her that another teacher or parent has used her remarkable paper “The WAR on Flash cards”, which appeared in volume 2 of The Best of Westfield State, to help their students and/or children learn basic arithmetic facts. (See Part IV, Section 4)

It is these human faces of learning, education, growth and mathematical discovery that inspire my efforts, my growth, and my development.

Reflecting the spirit of this promotion portfolio, I, Julian F. Fleron, stand proudly as a people’s mathematician.