Morehead State University - Raconteur Yearbook (Morehead, KY)

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lbw; aw I CHNICAL math Is just one of the many classes taught by Glenn Johnston who Is e head of the mathematics department at Morehead. The math department has e largest enrollment among courses offered by a department at M. S U. LCULATORS are a major part of any math class here at Morehead. Susie Berry, freshman from Maysville, Ky. ., is in the process of calculating an answer during r math class. COMPUTATIONAL skills as well as the practical application of these in word problems is needed in math class. Vonda Ramey, a junior from Morehead, uses these skills to do her classwork.

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Mathematics: A Realistic Application iii can't say mathematics is absolutely critical to every student, that's foolish, admitted Glenn E. Johnston who has been head of Morehead Stateis mathematics department for the past 13 years. But, Johnston points out that students should have a broad background in their education. iiMathematics is critical, he adds. I am a firm believer that students should have a broad exposure in mathematics. It carries as much weight as any other discipline. Students get that exposure from the math department in general math, which has the largest enrollment among courses of- fered by a department. i'We like to show how mathematics models things on a day to day basis. In general math we try to do problems in statistics and problems with money. Students need to know what figures can do and what they can't do for them to function in society. Math can help them do that. For math majors, the department expands on the idea of a broad background and prepares them for the job world. iiWe want our majors to have good grounding in classical analysis and to be capable in each of the mathematics disciplines, such as geometry, algebra and statistics, said Johnston. He said the advent of the computer, however, has changed the field of mathematics from primarily a field for teacher preparation and abstract math to more realistic computational applications. Our largest number of majors are in computer math. Computer related jobs are biggest among our majors. They usually start in jobs as consultants to engineers and scientists or as statisticians, Johnston said. And the department cares about the career preparation of their majors. HThe department is concerned with equipping our majors with the necessary knowledge and skills to get a job, said Johnston. HWe try hard, although we may not be recognized for it, to take underprepared students and make them able to compete in the job market. He described the job market for math majors as taking an up- surge in recent years. iiWe went- from a high-volume demand for mathematics majors in the 19603 to a decrease in demand in the 19705. We are now seeing a surge in demand for them again, said Johnston. He said math majors fit typically into the campus scene and are active in various activities on campus. itMathematicians are not likely to be in the news, Johnston pointed out. But perhaps his statement about them being very active in campus activities is truer of their genre. One math major is very much in the news, or into the news. Janie Bowling, a senior from Grayson, Ky., is the managing editor of the TRAIL BLAZER, the campus newspaper. Math makes you think logically in everything you do, Bowling said. By JEFF SPRADLING Mathematics

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Enhancing Musical Abilitie i The Music Department is solely for the purpose of developing and enhancing one's artistic abilities in music. This department is a member of the National Association of Schools of Music. It has a faculty of twenty-two full-time members and two part-time. The faculty holds advanced degrees from several of the nations most highly esteemed schools of music. Baird Music Hall is alive with undergraduate and graduate students. It boasts such facilities as rehearsal halls, teaching studios, practice rooms, a music education materials center, a record library, and instrument repair facility, and a 400 seat recital hall. Dr. Christopher Gallaher, head of the department, said that Morehead State University has backed the music program very well. iiThe administration is very supportive of the program and is always helpful in the program's growth and continuation, he said. The music department has put forth a very talented group this Music year. The MSLI Marching Band, under the direction of Mr. Richar Miles, was selected to perform December 1 at the lndianapoli Coltsi New England Patriots professional football game. The ban performed in front of national television. The MSU Chambe Singers under the direction of James Ross Beane was selected t perform in Carnegie Hall in New York City with the America Symphony Orchestra, on April 30, 1986. These singers joine. choruses from the University of Nebraska, Memphis State Univer sity, Mars Hill College, and Western Kentucky University for a per formance of Kodaly's TE DEUM and Neilson's HYMNUS AMORIS They were conducted by Peter Tiboris. The department offers a bachelor's degree in Music Educatio for those interested in teaching; a bachelor of music degree f0 those interested in careers as performers, theorists, or composers and a major and minor within the bachelor of arts curriculum. This department is making people more aware of them throug their recitals and concerts. By GREG RAMEY and ADA MIRACLE