Dr. Javier Taylor, assistant professor of mathematics at University of the Ozarks, recently completed a master’s of science degree in applied statistics from Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Mich.
Taylor has taught at Ozarks since the fall of 2016.
Taylor has bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Biblical studies as well as a master’s degree in mathematics education from the University of Arkansas Monticello and a Ph.D. in Christian education from Bethany Theological Seminary in Alabama.
He said he decided to embark on the two-year journey to earn a master’s degree in applied statistics in order to delve deeper into a “topic in mathematics that I was not as comfortable with as I felt I needed to be.”
“I had the usual statistics course all mathematicians have as an undergraduate and I took a course when I was pursuing my master’s in mathematics education at UCA,” Taylor said. “ However, there were parts of statistics, especially hypothesis testing, regression analysis and statistical modeling that were still foreign to me. There was also the industry standards for statistical software such as SAS and R which I was able to learn over the past two years. During the first part of the pandemic I found that I had a bit of time to consider these topics and I found a set of coursers leading to an MS in applied statistics from Michigan Tech University that looked interesting. I have enjoyed learning statistics and I look forward to continuing to improve my mathematics teaching through professional development.”
Taylor received the 2019 Western Arkansas Outstanding Professor Award.
Topics: About, Mathematics