Dr. Mihaela Vajiac

Professor, Program Director for the Faculty of Mathematics
Faculty Senate President 

I have known I wanted to be a mathematician, a geometer actually, from the very first moment I saw Euler’s Nine Point Circle and Euler’s line. Not only do all heights in the triangle intersect in one point, all medians in another, and all perpendicular bisectors in yet another, but these three intersection points are collinear, (i.e. on the same line).

Playing with triangles and circles became not something one did for homework but something that one did for fun. Algebra became a way of understanding these geometries effectively and a mathematician was born…

Later, analysis took another dear path in my heart, which always kept at its core what I consider to be the queen of mathematics: differential geometry with its intrinsic beauty and its intricate way of explaining the physical world around us.

I had many advantages in life, growing up in a very large family, with professions as varied as farming the land, practicing medicine, growing businesses, to research and teaching literature, physics, computer science and mathematics. I also have very close relatives all around the world enjoying the same things that I do, as well as many others, just as close, that have completely different paths in life.

While I will always support my spouse’s parallel career along mine, I will never ignore the calls of my own dreams and I will pursue them with the passion they deserve. A relationship is hard work, maybe even more so for a woman scientist, but problems are just puzzles to solve and bring to an equitable conclusion. There is a best approximation and, if you believe in yourself, you will also find it.

I hold the privilege of leading the Mathematics Faculty group, as the Mathematics Program Director, in addition to holding the office of Faculty Senate President. While I will talk about my responsibilities as the latter, I have to say that the director position informs my role as Senate President, as it is a role that shows me all the intricacies of almost all Chapman systems, from admissions to faculty retention.

One of the most time-consuming tasks of a Faculty Senate President is to establish the monthly agenda for the Senate and the Senate Executive Board meetings, as these are informed by several reports and factors. One needs to be both rigid, as many of the items on the agenda are essential for seamless faculty governance, and fluid, as new items to be discussed come up all the time.

One of the most rewarding responsibilities is guiding the Senate Executive Board in selecting honorary degree finalists, Cheverton Award finalists, the final slate be selected by the Senate and the entire Faculty body, respectively.

The most difficult to navigate responsibility is the one that makes the Faculty Senate President the point person for the faculty side of academic shared governance. Many discussions with the upper Chapman University Administrations are required, for example monthly or more often with the Office of the Provost, speaking at the Board of Trustees meeting when asked to do so, and, in general, representing faculty in university-wide bodies (the Academic Council of the Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees, Town & Gown, etc.).

The second most difficult responsibility is to help facilitate the collective organization of faculty Monthly meetings with the Senate, SEB, LRPC, and many other committees are held and carefully coordinated.

The most fun responsibility is to plan the catering of all faculty social events including end-of- semester parties, homecoming, faculty honors reception, etc.

All interactions between Faculty and their elected representatives on the Faculty Senate are governed by the Faculty Manual, the Bylaws of the Faculty Manual, and the Chapman University Constitution. The newest approved version of the Faculty Manual can be found at: https://www.chapman.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/_files/faculty-manual.pdf.

The Senate has recently voted on the inception of a new Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)committee that oversees all courses at Chapman that fulfill a General Education DEI component, as well as serves as liaison between faculty and the VP of DEI, Dr. Reginald Stewart, as well as office of DEI on all DEI issues.

Regarding political issues, the Senate is always acting on behalf of faculty and takes action whenever a group of faculty or a council brings something to its attention. First and foremost, the Senate proposes policies that benefit the academic life of the university and takes efforts to ensure that resources are equitably and fairly allocated to the faculty.