Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Ann B. Oaks '74, P'84, P'85, P'89

Associate Professor Emerita of Mathematics
1979-2002

Ann B. Oaks '74, P'84, P'85, P'89, associate professor emerita of mathematics, graduated magna cum laude from William Smith and returned to join the HWS faculty in 1979 where she taught for 23 years. Her scholarship, which focused on the effects of cognitive and affective factors on learning mathematics and additional work on the influence of gender in mathematical achievement, is nationally known. Oaks earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. In 1994, she received a special citation from the William Smith Alumnae Association and the Hobart Alumni Association recognizing her as an exemplary member of the HWS community who achieved her goals first as a nontraditional student and later as a faculty member. She also won the Faculty Prize for Teaching in 2002. Following her retirement, Oaks returned to HWS to teach a number theory course and served as interim director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. She has three children, all HWS graduates, Jeffrey A. Oaks '84, Kimberly O. Holmes '85 and Kathleen Menn-Oaks '89.

Testimonials from the Distinguished Faculty Award survey highlighted Oaks' emphasis on the ways in which she demonstrated that "math is beautiful" and served as "a wonderful role model for what a William Smith women and educated women should be. She also demonstrated how a woman could have a balanced professional and personal life."