You probably think of math as a set of skills, like doing arithmetic or factoring a quadratic. But math is much more about building a set of virtues: like persistence, creativity, and a competence to solve problems you've never seen before. Math can (and should) meet basic human desires that all of us share, and it builds virtues that serve you well no matter what you do in life and no matter what life throws at you: pandemic or polarization. An incarcerated man — now my friend — has helped me see this more clearly than ever before.

Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College and a former president of the Mathematical Association of America. His research is in geometric combinatorics and applications to the social sciences. In 2013, he received the Haimo Award, a nationwide teaching prize for college math faculty, and in 2018 he won the Halmos-Ford writing award. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and the New York Times. His book "Mathematics for Human Flourishing," winner of the 2021 Euler Book Prize, is an inclusive vision of what math is, who it’s for, and why anyone should learn it.

This event is sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa and co-sponsored by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Center for Innovative Pedagogy.

Register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EEiLLObNSpKsihg683b_rg