Some members of the Baylor faculty will be retiring this spring or summer after long service to the University. In this series of blog posts, we asked each new retiree a few questions about their time at Baylor and what they intend to do once they step down from full-time teaching.
Dr. David Arnold, The Ralph and Jean Storm Professor of Mathematics, joined the Baylor faculty in 1990. Arnold earned a BA in mathematics from Wichita State University in 1962 and a PhD in mathematics from the University of Illinois-Urbana in 1969.
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1. What do you consider the hometown where you grew up?
Tecumseh, Nebraska
2. What brought you to Baylor?
My desire to move from a state university to a private university with religious connections coincided with an offer to become the Ralph and Jean Storm Professor of Mathematics at Baylor.
3. What courses, or types of courses, have you concentrated on teaching at Baylor?
I have concentrated on teaching mathematics courses ranging from courses for freshman liberal arts students to second year graduate student courses, including courses in algebra, number theory, error-correcting codes, cryptology, mathematics and music, and honors courses from original sources.
4. Can you characterize the students you’ve taught while at Baylor? Are there things about your students that especially stand out to you after all these years?
Compared to students at various other universities where I have taught, I find that Baylor students, generally, are of high character, conscientious, hard-working and committed to learning.
5. Have you enjoyed teaching at Baylor — and if so, why?
The past 25 years at Baylor have been the most rewarding years in my 47-year career as a professor of mathematics.
6. Are there examples of research you’ve taken part in while at Baylor that you have had especially significant satisfaction with?
Yes — National Science Foundation grants, a graduate/research level book in mathematics published in 2000, and the 45 or so papers that I have published in refereed mathematics research journals while I have been at Baylor.
7. Is there anything else about your time at Baylor or your career that you’d like to add?
I feel fortunate to have known and worked with the late Herbert Reynolds, an outstanding Baylor University president, Wallace Daniel, an exemplary former dean of Arts & Sciences, and Howard Rolf, an excellent former mathematics department head. They are responsible for significantly supporting the development of a PhD program in mathematics and the development of the current high-quality mathematics department.