Edray Goins, professor of mathematics and statistics, is the first mathematician from Pomona College to be elected president of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
Founded in 1915 in Washington, D.C., the MAA—one of the largest professional societies in the country—focuses on research and teaching in the field to fully realize math’s potential to promote human flourishing.
Goins, the first African American to be elected president in the 110-year history of the MAA, will serve one year as president-elect starting July 1, then two years as president beginning July 1, 2027.
He’ll subsequently serve a year as past president.
“At its fundamental heart, the MAA has this goal of saying math is something we all need to be happy in our lives,” Goins says. “That’s a very powerful statement to make. But I can say in everything the MAA does—programming, conferences—we put that mission statement at the forefront.”
Since joining the MAA a dozen years ago, Goins has been an active member of the society’s Southern California-Nevada regional section, which addresses such perpetual issues as funding for math research and education and under- and over-enrollment in the math major.
With so many sections around the country facing similar challenges, Goins campaigned for MAA president on finding a way to help bridge the gap between those who do math research and those who do math education—groups that tend to be siloed in how they approach the discipline, he says.
Additionally, with the federal government terminating an increasing number of math grants, Goins vowed to connect with private foundations to support math majors across the country in need of financial support.
Goins, who was featured prominently in the 2024 documentary “Journeys of Black Mathematicians,” will be the second mathematician from The Claremont Colleges to serve as MAA president.
Harvey Mudd College Professor Francis Su was president from 2015-17.
“I want to give people a lot of hope about what the future of the mathematics community can be,” Goins says. “Because the MAA has this mission of math for human flourishing, my hope is that members will really understand math isn’t just about having the majors or having the funding to do grants.”
“It’s really part of this larger community that has to tell people math is a cool, beautiful thing.”