Alex M. McAllister

BIOGRAPHY

Alex McAllister joined the Centre College faculty in 1999, and is H. W. Stodghill, Jr. and Adele H. Stodghill Professor of Mathematics and joined the Dean’s office in 2019 as Associate Dean of the College. In 2009, he received the Kirk Teaching Award, and has been honored as a Centre Scholar both in 2005 and in 2010. McAllister has taught courses at Centre College in mathematics, computer science, humanities, and philosophy. He has prior teaching experience as a visiting assistant professor at Dartmouth College and a graduate instructor at the University of Notre Dame. McAllister was also a research assistant at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

McAllister’s scholarly interests include mathematical logic and foundations, computability theory, and the history of mathematics. His articles have been published in the Archive for Mathematical Logic, the Journal of Symbolic Logic, and the Mathematical Logic Quarterly. Oxford University Press published his two co-authored textbooks: A Transition to Advanced Mathematics: A Survey Course, in 2009 with William Johnston of Butler University, and Mathematical Modeling and Applied Calculus, in 2018 with Joel Kilty of Centre College. McAllister earned a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Pi Mu Epsilon.

AWARDS

• 2019 CTL Innovative Teaching Award
• 2015 Kentucky Section of MAA Teaching Award
• 2005-2007, 2010-12 Centre Scholar
• 2009 Kirk Teaching Award
• 2008 Stodghill Research Professorship
• 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013(x2), 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021 Honor Walk Talent Recipient
• 2005 Omricon Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society
• 2004 Alpha Delta Pi Professor of the Year 

AFFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

• Mathematical Association of America
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Pi Mu Epsilon
• Omicron Delta Kappa

COURSES TAUGHT

• Theoretical Foundations of Comp Science
• Mathematical Impossibilities
• Drama and Math in Ancient Greece
• Mathematics in Our Society
• Discrete Mathematics
• Calculus III, Linear Algebra
• Foundations of Mathematics
• Abstract Algebra I
• Abstract Algebra II
• Real Analysis
• Mathematical Logic
• Symbolic Logic

PUBLICATIONS

Books

• Mathematical Modeling and Applied Calculus, with Joel Kilty, Oxford University Press, New York, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-882472-5. A textbook for a 100-level mathematics course focused on modeling, data analysis, and applied calculus.
• A Transition to Advanced Mathematics: A Survey Course, with William Johnston, Oxford University Press, New York, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-19-531076-4. A textbook for a transition course surveying mathematics. Schaum’s Easy Outline: Logic, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2005, ISBN: 0-07-145535-3.
• An Abridgement based on Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Logic, Second Edition, by John Nolt, Dennis Rohatyn, and Achille Varzi, McGraw-Hill, 1998. Abridgment Editor: Alex M. McAllister.

Articles

• Collaboratively Re-envisioning Calculus for the Modern Student, with Joel Kilty and Alison Marr, in Justice through the lens of calculus: Framing new possibilities for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Mathematical Association of America Notes, published electronically November 2021, 257-263. https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.11486
• Tales of the Crisis: Morphing Faculty Evaluation, MAA FOCUS, Newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America, Volume 40, Number 4, August/September 2020, 26. http://digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/publication/?i=669168
• Establishing and Maintaining a Culture of Collegial Collaboration, with Lesley Wiglesworth and John Wilson, in special edition of PRIMUS: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, Volume 30, Issue 6, 668-681, June 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2020.1712670
• A Modeling Based Approach to Calculus, with Joel Kilty, in PRIMUS: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, Volume 30, Issue 3, 316-334, March 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2019.1588813
• Mathematical Impossibilities, in The Courses of History: Ideas for Developing a History of Mathematics Course, Mathematical Association of America Notes, Volume 87, October 2018, 381-408. ISBN 978-0-88385-197-5.
• Math and Drama in Ancient Greece, with Matthew R. Hallock, in The Courses of History: Ideas for Developing a History of Mathematics Course, Mathematical Association of America Notes, Volume 87, October 2018, 215-232. ISBN 978-0-88385-197-5.