It All Adds Up For Veteran Mathematics Chair
by Dave Reid
From Dateline (February 5, 2004)
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Two or three days a week, Jim Friel rides
to campus from his home in Chino Hills on a yellow Italian Ducati
motorcycle. The veteran biker has served as chair of the Mathematics
Department since 1980 – one of the longest-serving department
leaders on campus.
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Jim Friel, chair and professor of mathematics,
is a busy man. He zips to work often on his bright yellow motorcycle,
avoiding traffic jams and the challenges of finding a parking space
on campus. At work, the longtime department chair zips along an
academic path lined with significant numbers.
A faculty member since 1973 and chair since 1980,
Friel is the longest serving math chair within the California State
University and one of the longest serving department leaders on
campus. Friel reports with pride that Fullerton has the largest
math department in the CSU, and one of the largest programs in number
of students taking classes. Last fall, approximately 7,300 students
were enrolled in a math course, including all entering freshmen,
students needing remediation, about 300 math majors and 60 graduate
students. The department has 32 full-time faculty members and about
68 part-time instructors.
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