By Dr. Raymond Hebert
Thomas More University
Part 55 of our series, “Retrospect and Vista II” Thomas More College/University 1971-2021
It was Sister Mary Elizabeth Frisch, O.S.B., Ph.D. (from the Catholic University of America, according to Thomas Henry Hanna (Dissertation – “The History and Status of Villa Madonna College; 1962 – University of Cincinnati) who provided the primary details about the early history of the department of Mathematics at Villa Madonna College.
Sister Mary Elizabeth Frisch, O.S.B., Ph.D., early chair of the Mathematics department. (TMU Archives)
The Mathematics department was contained within the Sciences until 1929. Sister M. Domitilla Thuener, O.S.B. served as the first chair of the combined departments (1921–1929) and then as chair of the separate department of Mathematics (1929–1943). She was then followed by Sister Mary Elizabeth Frisch, who was chair at the time of Dr. Hanna’s 1961 dissertation. At that time, the faculty in the department included James Brooks, Sr. Mary Hulitta Ege, O.S.B., Sister Mary Rose Rauen, O.S.B., William Bettenhorn, and Lawrence Mammering, with others being added in 1961, namely Robert L. Becker, John McAnow, and Harvey Weitkamp (Hanna dissertation, p. 248).
It was noted, as a sign of things to come, that “through the June graduation of 1961, 61 Mathematics majors have graduated from the college; with 36 presently concentrating in Mathematics in the Spring of 1961. Eighteen graduates in the department went on for graduate study, and of this number, six obtained their master’s degree, one a doctorate, and four are currently (1961) in graduate school” (Hanna dissertation). The dissertation then described the major offerings, adding that all the student majors in Physics and Chemistry were required to take Mathematics courses every year.
Sister Mary Elizabeth’s conclusion was that: “during the years 1960 and 1961, in addition to revising its curriculum, the Department of Mathematics has strengthened its course offerings and raised its standard of performance expected of students in order to meet the demands of graduate schools of science that incoming students be better-prepared in the field of Mathematics” (Hanna dissertation, p. 249). Clearly, Villa Madonna College’s pursuit of respectability as a liberal arts institution could count on the strength of the Mathematics department as guaranteed by the founding order of Benedictine sisters and its mathematicians, Sister M. Domitilla Thuener, O.S.B., Sister Mary Elizabeth Frisch, O.S.B., and Sister M. Rose Rauen, O.S.B.
Kenneth Taylor and Steven Lameier, long-standing faculty members of the
Mathematics department. (TMU Archives)
Not long afterwards, two laymen played an important role in what would be the direction of the math department over the next few decades: Dr. Steven H. Lameier and Mr. Kenneth Taylor (who would become one of the long-standing faculty members of the college’s Computer Science program in the 1970s). Dr. Lameier was hired as a full-time faculty member in 1969 while completing his PhD at the University of Cincinnati (1973). He began as an instructor (1969–1972); then Assistant Professor (1972–1978); Associate Professor (1978–1982+) and served as chair for many years, beginning in 1982.
Dr. Lameier’s research was “Computer applications, probability and statistics, numerical analysis, approximation theory, univalent function theory, number theory, and real and complex analysis” (Steven H. Lameier, Curriculum Vita, March 26, 1968, TMU Archives). Dr. Lameier had worked for consulting firms. In addition, he had received teaching fellowships, NASA traineeships, and NSF/Phi Beta Kappa Fellowships. Consistently, year after year, Lameier received positive teaching evaluations. He was a major pillar in the department’…….