The Mu Alpha Theta National High School and Junior College Mathematics
Club was founded in 1957 by Dr. and Mrs. Richard V. Andree at the University
of Oklahoma. In his words, Mu Alpha Theta is "an organization dedicated to
promoting scholarship in mathematics and establishing math as an integral part
of high school and junior college education." The name Mu Alpha Theta was constructed
from the Greek lettering for the phonemes m, a, and th.
Pi Mu Epsilon, the National Collegiate Honor Society of Mathematics,
contributed funds for the organization's initial expenses; the University
of Oklahoma provided space, clerical help, and technical assistance.
The Mathematical Association of America,
a primary sponsor of the organization
since 1958, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
nominated the first officers and Board of Governors. The Society
for Industrial and Applied Mathematics became an official sponsor in 1998,
followed by The American Mathematical Association of Two-Year
Colleges in 2002.
The first Mu Alpha Theta National Convention was held at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas
in 1968. Each year the convention brings together hundreds of
teachers and students from across the country for five days of math-related
events. The National Convention rotates among our chapters and has been held in locations
all over the country, including Honolulu, Washington D.C., Seattle, Dallas, and Boston.
The official journal of Mu Alpha Theta, The Mathematical Log,
was first issued in 1957 on mimeograph and was in printed form starting in
1958. It was published four times during the school year until 2002 and
featured articles, reports, news, and problems for students.
The Kalin Award
was initiated in 1981 to reward outstanding students. The Huneke Award
and the
Sister Scholastica Award followed in 1986 and 1995 to recognize outstanding chapter
sponsors. The Andree Award
was created in 1987 to encourage students who plan to become mathematics teachers.
The Rubin Award
was initiated in 2004 to reward a chapter which has shown a history of outstanding service
to its community for at least two years with a mathematics project.
Mu Alpha Theta offered the Vector Scholars Program in
2002 to recognize and reward students for outstanding
efforts in mathematics and math education. In 2006, the organization began offering
merit scholarships to outstanding members.