The Executive Committee nominates Dr. Frank J. Hall to the status of Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in December 2019. Here is the letter from the Executive Committee:
“It is our great honor to nominate Dr. Frank J. Hall to the status of Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in December 2019. Below is a summary of his many accomplishments and contributions to the department, university, and community, both local and international.
Since his appointment to the faculty of the department in 1978, Frank Hall has been a cornerstone to its growth and evolution. As the university transformed itself from a teaching oriented commuter school to a Research I university, Frank Hall was ever present supporting the department and his colleagues as they navigated through the transition. During his tenure here at GSU, Frank has authored or co-authored over 90 articles. Many of these articles were co-authored with some of linear algebra’s most eminent scholars, e.g., Robert Hartwig, Charles Johnson, and Miroslav Fiedler, and over a third of his papers were published in either Linear Algebra and its Applications or Linear and Multilinear Algebra, two of the most important journals in the fields of linear algebra and matrix theory. But international acclaim was not all that drove Frank’s scholarly endeavors. Frank also was an ardent supporter of new faculty in the department, helping them establish their own research agendas and this is evidenced by the many articles he co-authored with them. Frank has continued to maintain an active research life as shown by the fact that he is currently working on more than a dozen papers simultaneously, even as his retirement quickly approaches. As a founding member of the International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS), Frank’s reputation in the field is well-known, and he still gives invited talks around the world (e.g., Windsor, Canada; Prague, Czech Republic; Seoul, Korea).
Frank has constantly and consistently supported the department’s graduate program, not only when it was just a master’s program, but also the Ph.D. program after its establishment. He either directed or was a committee member for 29 master’s theses and 8 Ph.D. dissertations. Additionally, he sat on over 40 master’s examination committees, 7 Ph.D. candidacy examination committees, and many Ph.D. qualifying exam committees. Additionally, he served as the department’s Director of Graduate Studies in the early 1990s and personally mentored or supervised a dozen graduate students (whose research he was not directing).
Frank’s devotion to the department was also evident in his instruction. He helped develop 5 courses for our curriculum, taught 24 different courses (from freshman level to graduate level), and directed 3 independent studies. His curricular insights were invaluable during the semester conversion years. Additionally, he served the department’s instructional efforts while sitting on a variety of student-oriented committees, e.g., the Honors Program Committee, the Calculus Syllabus Committee, the Curriculum and Program Committee, and the Content Standards Committee to name but a few.
Frank’s commitment to university and community at large is also quite evident when considering the breadth of his service at all levels. He served the university while being a member of the university senate and sitting on the Student Life and Development Committee. He served on the college’s Graduate Council and P&T Area Committee (serving as chair for many years). At the department level, in addition to the committees referred to above, he helped guide the department by serving on its Executive Committee for many years, actively participating in various faculty search committees, the Ph.D. proposal committee, and many others. In addition to being the Director of Graduate Studies for a year, he also was Acting Chair of the department for a short time, and the Associate Chair of the department for two years. Frank is also very active in the Georgia Coalition for Excellence in Mathematics Education, thus expanding his passion to the community at large.
In summary, Frank Hall has had an esteemed career here at Georgia State University and we feel that he is more than worthy of the rank Professor Emeritus upon his retirement.”