Every student and faculty member at Cal State Fullerton’s College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics has their own NSM Story. Those who choose to give back to the College after they graduate or retire help the next generation of thinkers thrive as they advance academically.
In the case of Jim Friel, former and longest-serving chair of the Department of Mathematics, who spent his entire career ensuring students would have what they need to graduate well-equipped for successful careers, establishing an endowment was a natural next step.
With his loving wife of 62 years, Betty, Friel recently established the James Friel Family Award Endowment, which provides a $1,000 award to a junior-year or above math student who is studying probability and statistics and/or actuarial science. Recipients must have a minimum 3.0 GPA in their math courses and be in good standing within the department.
The first recipient is actuarial science student Aaron Kim, who was awarded the scholarship at NSM’s Annual Awards Reception in April 2024.
Building a Department
Friel began his career at Cal State Fullerton as a faculty member in 1973, advancing to department chair in 1980 and serving in that capacity until his retirement in 2004.
“It was never my intention to stay as chair for such a long time, but the position was interesting to me and brought new challenges on a regular basis,” Friel says. “When I came to CSUF, it was the newest school in the California system and the Department of Mathematics was just forming, emphasizing the classical courses in pure mathematics. They had done a fine job that was appropriate for the time, but it was missing many applied courses, including probability and statistics, which was my area of interest. When one of the founding faculty members suggested that they really needed someone in probability theory on the faculty, there I was – ready, willing, and able. It was the best career move of my life.”
Elected chair of the curriculum subcommittee, Friel added a fourth concentration – probability and statistics – and introduced the concept of a cognate.
“The idea was that students needed some knowledge of a field not in mathematics but related to mathematics. Obvious choices were computer science – then a rather new field – physics, engineering, and symbolic logic. Many cognates, each including three courses from another field, have been added over the years,” he says.
Friel’s more than two decades as chair spanned a period of significant growth for the department.
In CSUF’s early years, Friel was the deciding vote on whether the department should absorb the mathematics education group. While controversial among faculty at the time, it led to joint publications, grant awards, and other departmental achievements.
In the ’70s and ’80s, Friel helped lead departmental efforts to shift the emphasis of calculus education from calculations to concepts and incorporate advanced graphing calculators, which were becoming more widely available.
Under Friel’s leadership, the department secured a study room for students to meet, work together, and share experiences working or interning in industry roles to ensure students were well-prepared for life after college. The department also launched a yearly panel made up of industry professionals and instructors to talk to students about their careers.
During his early years as chair, the department added a graduate statistics course to the master’s program for mathematics education and introduced a master’s program in applied mathematics, which replaced the pure mathematics program.
“This was a somewhat unconventional graduate program, with courses being offered in the early evening to appeal to individuals working in industry as well as our regular students completing their undergraduate programs,” Friel says. “Coursework was offered through three semesters each year for two years and culminated with a local industry project. Several meetings with our Faculty Senate convinced them that this was a viable program, and it has been running strong for the past 30 years.”
During his 24 years as chair, Friel was an ex officio member of all department committees and attended many of their meetings. In later years, he was involved in the Mathematical Association of America, serving as a board member, vice chair, and then governor of the MAA’s Southern California section.
Friel retired in 2004, entering Cal State’s Early Retirement Program, through which he continued to teach part-time through 2009. He joined the Emeriti Program and served as president of the organization for four years. In that time, the Emeriti Program doubled the number of scholarships they awarded to students and helped fund the publication of The Fullerton Way: 50 Years of Memories at California State University, Fullerton, by Lawrence Brooks De Graaf, professor emeritus of history at CSUF.
A Powerful Partnership
Friel’s constant companion and endowment co-sponsor is his wife, Betty. She is also an educator, having taught grades K-8 for 42 years. After moving to California, she taught middle school math. She became department chair and a mentor teacher and conducted workshops for other teachers.
Friel says he is very thankful for his wife’s love and support over the years, and that they agree on “most of life’s important issues.”
Jim and Betty have maintained a long connection to NSM and the department, and they are thrilled to help the next generation of mathematicians find success in their own NSM Stories.