TROY News Center

Troy University MathFest 2013, a one-day undergraduate mathematics conference, will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 6 in Hawkins Hall on the Troy Campus.

Made possible by Troy University funding and a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant through the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), TROY MathFest, created in 2004, allows students from around the region to take part in presentations and discussions covering all areas of mathematics. The event is an initiative of the University’s Department of Mathematics, chaired by Diane Porter, in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“The purpose of the conference is to have a common mathematics forum accessible to all undergraduate students in the Southeast and beyond,” said Dr. Vijaya Gompa, professor of mathematics on the University’s Dothan Campus who is serving in her second year as the event’s director.

Dr. Ken Roblee, professor of mathematics on the Troy Campus, former MathFest director and local coordinator for this year’s event, said the opportunity for students to present their research at the forum provides valuable experience.

“The importance of TROY MathFest is that it fills the need for giving regional undergraduate students in mathematics the opportunity to present their research projects in a formal, NSF-MAA (National Science Foundation and Mathematical Association of America) supported conference, as well as the opportunity to meet and learn from undergraduate students and faculty members in mathematics from other universities and colleges,” Dr. Roblee said.

Participants will also have the opportunity to hear Dean G. Hoffman, professor of discrete mathematics at Auburn University, present on the topic “A Packing Problem from the Arithmetic Mean – Geometric Mean Inequality.”

Hoffman is a renowned graph and design theorist with more than 100 publications to his credit. He co-authored the textbook “Coding Theory and Cryptography: The Essentials,” and also has been awarded the College of Science and Mathematics Dean’s Research Award.

TROY – Troy University is now offering three new online undergraduate degrees to students in Florida.

The new additions – a bachelor of science in anthropology, a bachelor of science in sociology and a bachelor of liberal studies program – brings the number of bachelor degree programs offered in the state to 13, in addition to two associate degree programs and 13 graduate degrees.

The liberal studies program is designed to foster critical thinking and communication skills.

“This degree would be attractive to adult learners who have vocational and professional skills from on-the-job experience but lack a college degree,” said Dr. James Rinehart, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Traditional students who are planning to pursue graduate degrees in areas that demand critical thinking skills such as law, business administration or public administration would also find the degree program beneficial.”

Degree programs in anthropology and social science will bring new opportunities for Florida students, said Dr. Bill Grantham, Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences and chair of the University’s Social Sciences Department.

“The U.S. Department of Labor expects career opportunities in anthropology and social sociology to grow at an above-average rate during this decade. These programs are designed to offer students not only the opportunity to prepare for social science careers, but will prepare them to further their education at the graduate level,” he said.

Details about the full range of online programs and the application and admissions process are available at the Troy University Florida locations in Tampa, Orlando, Panama City (including Tyndall Air Force Base), Fort Walton Beach (including Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field) and Pensacola, or by visiting the University’s web site at www.troy.edu.

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TROY – Dr. Bill Grantham, a long-time professor of anthropology and chair of the Social Sciences Department, has been named associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Troy University.

In his new role, Dr. Grantham will serve as the administrative officer of the College, working in close coordination with the academic programs, and the three assistant deans for administration on the Dothan, Montgomery and Global Campuses will report to him, said Dr. Jim Rinehart, Dean of the College.

“Dr. Grantham’s experience as both a senior faculty member and a proven administrator within the College will be of significant value in his new assignment,” he said.

A Birmingham native, Dr. Grantham completed an undergraduate degree from University of Alabama at Birmingham and a graduate degree in anthropology from the University of Alabama. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. He is the author of “Creation Myths and Legends of the Creek Indians” and has authored numerous articles, monographs and conference papers on zooarchaeology and ethnography of the Middle East, and Native American creation myths and legends.

Dr. Grantham joined the TROY faculty in 1994. His appointment was effective Feb. 1.

Dr. Bill Grantham

TROY – A group of Troy University students are going to the dogs this summer.

The dogs were buried during the Persian period in Ashkelon, Israel several thousand years ago, and unearthed by TROY anthropology professor Dr. Bill Grantham nearly a quarter century ago. This summer five of his students are returning to the Leon Levi Expedition to Ashkelon to study the skeletal remains for the first time since they were encapsulated in plaster and removed from their burial places.

“It’s a real mystery as to why the dogs were buried,” Grantham said. “There’s just not a good explanation as to why they were buried.”

Equally perplexing is the fact the burials only occurred over a relatively short time period – perhaps 50 years of the more than 200-year rule of the Persians, he said.

The students will be working with zooarchaeologist Dr. Paula Wapnish, who worked with Dr. Grantham and is the widow of his major professor at University of Alabama - Birmingham, Dr. Brian Hesse, who was also a long-time Ashkelon scholar.

The 150-acre site alongside the Mediterranean in southern Israel, the Ashkelon area is home to at least 20 ancient cities dating from at 3500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. Canaanite, Philistine, Babylonian, Persian, Phoencian and Israeli civilizations are reflected in the strata of the excavation.

“I’ll be a long way from Andalusia,” said John Barbaree, a senior social science-anthropology major. “But the people there (Israelis and Arabs) do things just like we do – they’re people just like us.”

Barbaree and fellow students Joel Jackson, a junior from Millbrook and junior Benjamin Conner from Prattville won’t be strangers in the Holy Land, either. All three worked on the “Ashkelon Dig” last summer.

“(Last year) we were introduced at the site as ‘Bill Grantham’s students.’ Everyone there knew what I was about when that happened,” Barbaree said. “That says a lot about the quality that’s expected of us all.”

Joining the three veterans are Hailey Hillsman, a senior from Sandersville, Ga., and Jared Aquayo, a senior from Stone Mountain, Ga.

“Our students are being recognized as bone specialists and they’re being singled out,” said Hillary Wikle, an anthropology graduate who now directs TROY’s Ashkelon component.

The dog burials, she said, would give a glimpse of the ritualistic life of the ancient Persian people, but more importantly the recognition TROY students are receiving in the field is giving contemporaries a unique view of the University.

“When people think ‘TROY’ they don’t think ‘archaeology,’” she said. “We want to see that change.”

Indeed, the archaeology program is growing, thanks in part to the consortium the University joined this year with Harvard University, Wheaton College and Boston College and its efforts in Israel.

“It’s hard to put a price on it,” Wikle said. “Our students are receiving Harvard training, making contacts for graduate school and Ashkelon is just an incredible draw for students.”

Grantham and Wikle last year took all students who applied for the summer excursion. This year, she said, some 45 students – many from other disciplines – applied and the field had to be narrowed to just five.

As part of the consortium agreement, the University will send five students for the next five years to Ashkelon. Since 1985, the Leon Levy Expedition has been the premier America expedition in Israel, training two generation of students to appreciate the ancient culture and uncover history, said Dr. Lawrence Stager, the Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel at Harvard.

“Over the past two seasons, students from Troy University have become an integral part of this Ashkelon experience. Their excitement about the work at hand, capacity for learning new skills, and leadership among their peers have made them true assets to our team and example to our other participants,” he said. “We are excited to see what new abilities TROY students will bring over the coming seasons and we are happy to know that the excavation will continue to benefit from their integrity and ingenuity.”

For Grantham’s part, he’s enjoying seeing both his students find meaningful study while laying the groundwork for future academic study. He’s also proud of his institution.

“For TROY to part of the formal agreement is very satisfying,” he said. “It brings so many opportunities for our students.”

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