Herta Therese Freitag, Austrian mathematics educator, researcher Recipient Americanism Medal, Daughters of the American Revolution, Roanoke, 1967; Certified of Merit, Virginia Federation Women"s Clubs, 1967; Hollins College Medal, 1979, named Honorary Alumna, 1967; recipient Algernon Sidney Sullivan award New York Southern Society, 1977; named Virginia Mathematics College Teacher.of Year, Virginia College Teachers of Mathematics, 1980.
Background
She was born as Herta Taussig in Vienna, Austria. However, her father (the editor of Die Neue Freie Presse) had publicly opposed the Nazis, so in 1938 she and her parents emigrated to England, taking a job as a maid because the English immigration laws prevented her from entering the country as a teacher.
Education
Master Rerum Naturalium, University Vienna, 1934. Master of Arts, Columbia University, 1948. Doctor of Philosophy, 1953.
Career
She earned a master"s degree from the University of Vienna in 1934 and took a teaching position at the university. In 1944 she and her mother moved to the United States (her father having died a year earlier), and began teaching mathematics again at the Greer School in upstate New New York She earned a second master"s degree in 1948 from Columbia University, and a doctorate from Columbia in 1953.
Meanwhile, in 1948, she had joined the faculty at Hollins, where she eventually became a full professor and department chairman
In 1962 she served as a section president for the Mathematical Association of America, the first woman in her section to do southern After her retirement, she became a frequent contributor to the Fibonacci Quarterly, and the journal honored her in 1996 by dedicating an issue to her on the occasion of her 89th birthday (89 being a Fibonacci number).
Achievements
Membership
Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, Chinese Association Science and Technology, National Council Teachers of Mathematics. Member American Mathematics Association (president 1962-1963), American Mathematics Society, New York Academy Science, Chinese Mathematics Society, Central Association Science and Mathematics Teachers, Kappa Lambda Pi, Sigma Xi.
Interests
Mathematics, painting, swimming.
Connections
Married Arthur H. Freitag, December 26, 1950 (deceased 1978).
Recipient Americanism Medal, Daughters of the American Revolution, Roanoke, 1967. Certified of Merit, Virginia Federation Women"s Clubs, 1967. Hollins College Medal, 1979, named Honorary Alumna, 1967.tempSpaceRecipient Algernon Sidney Sullivan award New York Southern Society, 1977.
Named Virginia Mathematics College Teacher.of Year, Virginia College Teachers of Mathematics, 1980.
Recipient Americanism Medal, Daughters of the American Revolution, Roanoke, 1967. Certified of Merit, Virginia Federation Women"s Clubs, 1967. Hollins College Medal, 1979, named Honorary Alumna, 1967.tempSpaceRecipient Algernon Sidney Sullivan award New York Southern Society, 1977.
Named Virginia Mathematics College Teacher.of Year, Virginia College Teachers of Mathematics, 1980.