Salem State College
Department of Mathematics
Mission Statement

May 3, 2004



The Department of Mathematics serves the Salem State College community through educating mathematics majors as well as students majoring in other subjects. The mission of the department is to:
  1. Foster an appreciation of the many branches of mathematics, their history and their applications.
  2. Provide to students a meaningful mathematical experience. Promote awareness of connections to other subjects and strengthen each student's ability to apply mathematics to these subjects.
  3. Promote critical thinking through coursework that emphasizes problem solving and applications. Encourage students to try multiple approaches, persist when problems are challenging, pose questions and devise and test conjectures.
  4. Develop and present courses that communicate the breadth and interconnectedness of mathematics.
  5. Determine the extent to which the goals of courses and programs offered are aligned with the needs of students as well as the extent to which these goals are achieved.
  6. Conduct ongoing assessment of the strength of our courses and programs.
  7. Familiarize students with effective uses of technology in mathematical problem solving.
  8. Develop the skills necessary to communicate mathematical ideas with clarity through writing and speaking.
  9. Equip students who are planning to teach mathematics at the elementary or secondary level with the mathematical content they need to be successful.
  10. Promote scholarly activity among all the members of the Department and our major students.
  11. Encourage and support faculty collaboration with colleagues from other departments to modify and develop mathematics courses and devise undergraduate research projects.

Last Reviewed: January 10, 2006