Faculty – Mathematics and Physics Department: Natural and Quantitative Sciences

Purpose: Teach 12 credit hours of core undergraduate Mathematics and Physics courses during each academic year beginning fall semester 2025.  These courses include, but are not limited to:

SCIE 121 (3 credits) Great Ideas in Science. A one-semester interdisciplinary introduction to science, emphasizing central ideas that have influenced current views of nature, laws of nature, technology, and the relationships between science and society.  Central topics include the works of Galileo and Newton as well as their relationship to 20^th century science, the use of mathematics to model natural phenomena, the interplay between theory and experiment, and both the promise and the pitfalls of the application of techniques and methodologies developed in the natural sciences to other phenomena.  The course will also touch on 20^th century philosophy of science and the metaphysical underpinnings of modern science.  Students should come to understand how physical scientists think and how their peculiar modes of thought have influenced their world; and to be able to employ this kind of thinking themselves with an awareness of both its strengths and its limitations. This is an introductory survey course designed for business, liberal arts, education, and other non-science majors.

MATH 210 (3 credits) Intro to Statistics and Probability. This is an introductory statistical course that is intended to present solid application-oriented statistical topics for students pursuing a major in business. Topics include the role of statistics in the research process, measures of central tendency and variability, probability distributions, inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, and related topics.

MATH 125 (3 credits) PreCalculus.  This course is intended as a prerequisite for calculus.  This course will fully prepare students for all first semester calculus courses.  This course will concentrate on the functions, and the algebraic and trigonometric techniques needed in calculus.  Topics covered include systems of equations and inequalities, matrices, quadratic and higher order polynomials, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions, as well as polar coordinates.

MATH 118 (3 credits) Finite Mathematics.  This course is for students with liberal arts or business intent.  Students learn to use matrices to solve systems of linear equations by the Gauss-Jordan method, as well as systems of linear inequalities.  After a brief treatment of sets and Venn diagrams, probability is introduced, including conditional probability and Bayes Theorem. 

MATH 113 (3 credits) College Algebra.  This course is intended as a prerequisite for Math 125, in preparation for Calculus. This course will concentrate on equations and functions, including polynomial, rational, radical, exponential and logarithmic functions, their equations, graphs, composition, and applications.   

MATH 111 (3 credits) Discrete Mathematics.  Math for the Liberal Arts is a mathematics course intended for those students who are taking mathematics for liberal arts or general education purposes. The topics include set theory followed by a study of logic; the terminology and notation of logical statements and the determination of the validity of statements and arguments are introduced; fundamentals of geometry, including angles, polygons, perimeter, and area, are reviewed. Students will also be introduced to a unit on statistics that includes graphical presentation of data and sampling, measures of central tendency and location, measures of spread, and normal distributions. Other topics include consumer mathematics and probability.  

PHYS 131 (4 credits) Physics for the Life Sciences I.   The first in a two-course sequence of introductory algebra-based Physics courses. The first course will focus on mechanics, including kinematics as treated by both scalar and vector algebra, Newton’s laws of motion, and conservation principles.  The curriculum will focus on applications and systems of biological interest such as the motion of objects in viscous fluids and equilibrium and elasticity. This course is designed to teach students to employ the tools developed by physicists to reason about the natural world.  It is also designed to prepare each student for further studies and eventually a career in the life sciences and/or a health-related field.  Curriculum topics are chosen accordingly.  Students will learn the basic principles of classical physics; they will also practice mathematical modeling of physical—and biological—phenomena, scientific thinking and communication, and estimation. The lab component of the course gives students experience with proposing, designing, and carrying out experiments, analyzing data, and quantifying uncertainty as well as with laboratory procedures and techniques.  Students will learn applications as well as limitations of the techniques of the physical sciences and learn to situate the techniques and perspectives of the natural sciences as part of a holistic outlook on the world.

PHYS 131 (4 credits) Physics for the Life Sciences II.  The second in a two-course sequence of introductory algebra-based Physics courses. The course will cover electrostatics, circuits, and introductory electrodynamics.  It will also cover fluid mechanics and thermodynamics with special attention paid to biological applications such as chemical reactions, diffusion, and high-viscosity fluids. This course is designed to teach students to employ the tools developed by physicists to reason about the natural world.  It is also designed to prepare each student for further studies and eventually a career in the life sciences and/or a health-related field.  Curriculum topics are chosen accordingly.  Students will learn the basic principles of classical physics; they will also practice mathematical modeling of physical—and biological—phenomena, scientific thinking and communication, and estimation. The lab component of the course gives students experience with proposing, designing, and carrying out experiments, analyzing data, and quantifying uncertainty as well as with laboratory procedures and techniques.

Essential Job Duties:

• Teach twelve credit hours each semester, including: MATH210, MATH125, MATH118, MATH113, MATH111, SCIE121, PHYS131/132. 

• Support core administrative functions such as timely student feedback and course assessment.
• Course preparation, student assignment grading, midterm, and final grade within three days of course completion.
• Weekly attendance reporting.
• Conduct office hours on campus (about one hour per week for every two credits being taught).

• Participate in the life of the College by serving on administrative committees and attending important events, such as Welcome Weekend, Opening Mass, Faculty-Staff Convocation, Constitution Day, Honors   Convocation, DES Induction, Baccalaureate Mass, and commencement.
• Complete additional specific projects to be determined by the department chair.
• Other responsibilities as may be assigned to meet the needs of the department and College.