Pi Day is Saturday, March 14, when the calendar reads 3/14/15, which is the estimate for the number Pi at 3.1415.
The actuarial science sequence at Illinois State University will celebrate the day by awarding a scholarship to honor an alumna who died too young.
Lee Ann Murray graduated from Illinois State in 2012, with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in the actuarial science sequence. She thoroughly enjoyed mathematics and planned to spend her career working as an actuary, but her life was cut short in September 2014 due to complications related to treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her family and friends established a scholarship to benefit a deserving actuarial science student.
The first recipient of the Lee Ann Murray Scholarship will be announced on Pi Day, March 14. This year’s ceremony will be held at 9:15 a.m. in Stevenson Hall, room 401. The announcement will be made at the following time exactly: March 14, 2015 at 9:26:53 a.m. (3/14/15 9:26:53), because 3.141592653 is a pretty good estimate of the number
While at Illinois State University, Murray was in the Honors Program for actuarial science, served as vice president in Toastmasters and held memberships in the Actuarial Club and Gamma Iota Sigma. “Lee Ann was outgoing and joyful, with a great affinity for corny jokes, especially about mathematics, and the number Pi,” said Krzysztof Ostaszewski, director of the Center of Actuarial Excellence at Illinois State. “Everyone is welcome to this ceremony. We will feature warm memories of Lee Ann Murray, the announcement about the scholarship recipient, and, of course, pie will be served.”
For additional information on the event, call (309) 438-7797.
