Millennium Magazine_2ndEd

194 MILLENNIUM-SECOND EDITION A n experienced school mathematics editor and entrepreneur, Barbara Janson saw an opportunity to publish new mathematics programs that would help improve mathematical performance for all students. After reading “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” the scathing report of President Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education, published in 1983, she founded Janson Publications, whose mathematics programs were eventually used throughout the United States, with some also translated into Russian, Hebrew and Arabic for international use. Ms. Janson earned a Bachelor of Science in math from Iowa State University and a Master of Science in math from Trinity College, but she opted for a career in publishing rather than obtaining a PhD in mathematics. After also earning an MBA from the University of Rhode Island, she was soon operating in the field at a reasonably high level, running the American Mathematical Society’s (AMS) publishing programs for advanced mathematics research in both book and journal form. She often sat in on meetings of the AMS board of trustees and heard discussions about mathematics education, a topic of conversation previously very uncommon in that environment. This piqued her interest. After researching what was happening, she saw an opportunity to utilize her publishing background, at both the school and research levels, to publish and market newly developed tools for mathematics educators. Ms. Janson takes pride in knowing that her work has contributed to creating a more educated workforce. By the 1990s, the National Science Foundation (NSF) had investedmillions of dollars in mathematics curriculum development. One highlight of her career was when an NSF officer, discussing ways of disseminating the newly developed materials, told her, “If you didn’t exist, we would have to create you.” An avid believer in giving back, Ms. Janson is an overseer of both the Boston Ballet and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is also active at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. She has chaired the investment committee for the Iowa State University endowment and is a member of the board of directors of the ISU Foundation. BARBARA JANSON PRESIDENT Janson Associates Dedham, MA