Author Archives: Karen Saxe

About Karen Saxe

Karen Saxe is Director of the AMS Office of Government Relations which works to connect the mathematics community with Washington decision-makers who affect mathematics research and education. Over many years she has contributed much time to the AMS, MAA, and AWM, including service as vice president of the MAA and in policy and advocacy work with all three. She was the 2013-2014 AMS Congressional Fellow, working for Senator Al Franken on education issues, with focus on higher education and STEM education. In Minnesota she has served on the Citizens Redistricting Commission following the 2010 census and serves on the Common Cause Minnesota Redistricting Leadership Circle. She has three children and, when not at work especially enjoys being with them and reading, hiking and sharing good food and wine and beer with family and friends.

Meet the AMS Committee on Science Policy

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Karen Saxe

The AMS has five “policy” committees, which were established in 1993 to correspond to the five major areas in which the mission of the AMS is concentrated: Education, Meetings and Conferences, the Profession, Publications, and Science Policy. Each policy committee … Continue reading →

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Why care about the American Association for the Advancement of Science as an early-career mathematician?

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Karen Saxe

Editor’s note: Guest columnist Luis Sordo Vieira is a PhD mathematician and Postdoctoral Associate at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, a SIAM Science Policy Fellow, and a member of AMS, SIAM, SMB, AACR, and AAAS. I had the pleasure of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Communicating Mathematics, Graduate students | Tagged | 3 Comments

Mathematical Sciences and the NSF Big Ideas

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Karen Saxe

Editor’s note: Guest columnist Juan Meza is the Division Director of the NSF’s Division of Mathematical Sciences. Immediately before joining the NSF, he served as Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at the University of California, Merced. In 2016, the National … Continue reading →

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Which Members of Congress have a say over the NSF?

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Karen Saxe

Another shutdown has been avoided. Science did well in the final deal, and this includes \$8.1 billion for the NSF for the fiscal year 2019 (FY2019); this is the first time the NSF has received appropriations over \$8 billion and … Continue reading →

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Call To Action: The Shutdown Hurt Science; Ask Congress To Avoid Another

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Karen Saxe

Take action today and tell your elected officials–especially if they are members of the Conference Committee–to demonstrate resolve and forge a final package before February 15. You can use this editable email (written by Research!America) to contact your Congressional delegation–make your voice heard! … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Appropriations, Federal support for science, NSF | Tagged , | Leave a comment

NSF’s “We are Mathematics” Video Competition deadline extended

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Karen Saxe

The deadline for entries to the NSF “We Are Mathematics” Video Competition has been extended to February 28, 2019. This extension is due to the partial government shutdown. The NSF was closed but is now up and running again, and … Continue reading →

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Students! We want you to attend the “Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) Workshop”

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Karen Saxe

  The American Mathematical Society (AMS) sponsors two students to participate in the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop, organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This annual event introduces STEM students to the federal … Continue reading →

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Enter to win (fame and fortune): “We are Mathematics” video competition

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Karen Saxe

Have you received NSF support for your research or worked on an NSF-supported project? Are you enthusiastic about making videos? Do you yearn to explain your mathematics to a broader audience? The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites you to submit … Continue reading →

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AMS Office of Government Relations Activities at the Joint Mathematics Meetings

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Karen Saxe

  Each year at the JMM, my office organizes four events. ****** We host an annual workshop for department chairs, held in the same location as and just prior to the JMM. This one-day workshop for mathematical sciences department chairs … Continue reading →

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Sexual Harassment and a “Call to Action”

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Karen Saxe

UPDATE: At the bottom of this post I discuss Secretary DeVos’s proposed changes to Title IX guidelines. Since I published this post, the comment period has opened. You can give feedback until January 28, 2019. This link should bring you … Continue reading →

Posted in Sexual Harassment | Tagged , | 1 Comment