The James W. Petticrew Scholarship was established in March of 1994 by a group of relatives and friends of Dr. Petticrew, who was born in Springfield, Ohio on December 26, 1940 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1969 at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He worked in public schools and colleges in Indiana and Illinois before coming to the University of Texas-Pan American in 1985.
Dr. Petticrew’s main interest in mathematics was geometry, and during six years at the University of Texas-Pan American he produced several papers and made numerous presentations in collaboration with other faculty in the Department. Another strong interest of his was computer literacy, which he taught on a regular basis.
Dr. Petticrew’s passion was to collect books, most of them in the area of mathematics. One of the most remarkable characteristics of his personality is how quickly and deeply he fell in love with the Rio Grande Valley and its people, even though he had lived most of his life in Indiana and Illinois. When writing his will, Dr. Petticrew's main concerns were to make sure that all his books were donated to the University of Texas-Pan American and that an endowed scholarship was established with some of his estate. His relatives and friends made sure that this was done for the benefit of UT-PA mathematics students.
Applications for the Fall/Spring Petticrew scholarship are being accepted through February 15. Scholarship applicants must meet the following requirements: