Dear Members of the University Community,

I share with you the sad news that Jerry Alexanderson, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, died on December 16 at the age of 87. Jerry served the Santa Clara University community for a remarkable 60 years as an esteemed faculty member and long-time administrator. We mourn the loss of our colleague Jerry while remembering the great gift of his life which he shared so generously with the SCU community and the mathematics profession. Many in the department credit Jerry’s generous mentorship. He is particularly remembered for the breadth of his knowledge and the sharpness of his wit. A common sentiment among faculty and alumni alike is, “I am the mathematician I am today because of Jerry.”

Jerry began teaching at Santa Clara in 1958 and over the course of his career he served SCU as a long-time administrator − 35 years as chair of the Department of Mathematics (later the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science), and nine years as Division Director of Physical Sciences and Mathematics. During his long tenure at Santa Clara, he served on many committees and presided over several administrative units, ranging from College and departmental committees to University-wide roles, such as directing the University's Honors Program and serving on the University Board of Trustees. University honors include being named the inaugural Faculty Senate Professor in 1990 and receiving the first Joseph Bayma Award for Scholarship in 1996. From 1979 to 2016, he held an endowed chair and was named Michael and Elizabeth Valeriote Professor.

Jerry made memorable contributions to mathematics through the governance of regional and national mathematical organizations. He served on the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) for a record-setting total of 24 years on the Board and as the MAA’s first Vice-President, Secretary, and eventually President. In 2005, he received the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished  College or University Teaching in Mathematics, as well as the MAA Yueh-Gin Gung  and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics. In addition to his awards and administrative contributions, Jerry wrote and edited extensively, writing 19 books, often with coauthors, the two most recently published by the Princeton University Press and the Cambridge University Press.

Upon his retirement in 2018, the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science established the Alexanderson Lecture to commemorate Jerry’s extraordinary contributions to the communication of mathematics. Jerry’s legacy will live on at Santa Clara through the generations of students he taught, in the memories of his colleagues, and in the excellence of his department, which he was so instrumental in building.

Notes of condolence may be sent to his close friend Professor Emeritus Leonard Klosinski, care of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Please keep Jerry and his loved ones in your prayers. May he rest in peace.

Sincerely,

Kevin F. O'Brien, S.J.
President