James V. Rauff holds a Ph.D in computational linguistics from Northwestern University, an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Wyoming, an M.A. in anthropology from Loyola University -Chicago, and a B.A. in mathematics from Albion College.
Dr. Rauff has been teaching mathematics and computer science at Millikin since 1988 where he holds the position of Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science. He regularly teaches the history of mathematics, an introduction to computer science, algorithms and data structures, computer architecture, discrete mathematics, the theory of computing, and an introduction to anthropology. He has also taught calculus, linear algebra, statistics, differential equations, abstract algebra, mathematical logic, archaeology, linguistics, and artificial intelligence. He taught Honors seminars on infinity and on ethnomathematics.
Dr. Rauff has directed numerous JMS projects and capstone projects in mathematics and computer science. The scope of these projects is wide and includes graph theory, ethnomathematics, mathematical logic, DNA computing, automatic handwriting recognition, disaster recovery software, weather prediction using AI, and French translation.
Professor Rauff served as Director of the Writing in the Disciplines Program from 1991-93. He also served as the mathematics instructor in the Lilly Foundation funded Building New Bridges Program (1996-2001). He directed a Lilly Foundation funded ethnographic study of Millikin campus life. This study, carried out by student ethnographers became a model for similar studies at other universities.
Dr. Rauff has been awarded the Alpha Lambda Delta Outstanding Teacher Award, the James Millikin Scholars' Educator of the Year Award, a Research and Artistic Achievement Award, and the Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award. In 1999, he gave the Distinguished Faculty Lecture at Millikin's Honors Convocation.
Professor Rauff is a member of several professional organizations. These include the Plains Anthropological Association, the Société Canadienne d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Mathématiques, the American Rock Art Research Association, the British Society for the History of Mathematics, the IEEE Computer Society, the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science, and the Illinois Council for the Teaching of Mathematics.
Dr. Rauff served as the chair of the STEM Education Section of the Illinois State Academy of Sciences, on the Advisory Board of the American Mathematical Competitions, and on the ARARA research awards committee. He is a fellow the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Professor Rauff served as the book review editor for Mathematics and Computer Education, a book reviewer and referee for The Mathematics Teacher, Current Anthropology, and Cogent Education ,and a book reviewer for the American Mathematical Monthly and SIGACT News. He also reviewed materials for the NSF-funded TE-MAT project and was a co-investigator for the IWERC study on diversity in computer science education.
Dr. Rauff’s research lies in the intersection of mathematics, language and culture. He has over 180 publications in mathematics, computer science, linguistics, and anthropology.