Chawne Kimber facts for kids

Chawne Monique Kimber, born in 1971, is an amazing African-American mathematician. She is also a talented quilter. Chawne is known for using her quilts to share her ideas about fairness and important social issues. She used to be a professor and even led the math department at Lafayette College. Today, she is the Dean of the College at Washington and Lee University. This means she helps lead the whole college!

Learning and Working

Early Life and Studies

Chawne Kimber grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky. Her family has a history of cotton farming and quilting in Alabama. Even though she always loved math, she first studied engineering in college. She attended the University of Florida. Later, she switched to mathematics because she found it more exciting.

Advanced Degrees

Chawne earned her master's degree in 1995. She studied at the University of North Carolina. She then went back to the University of Florida. In 1999, she earned her Ph.D., which is a very high degree. Her special project was about "Prime Ideals in Rings of Continuous Functions." This work connected different areas of math.

Teaching and Leadership

After finishing her studies, Chawne became a professor. She taught math at Wesleyan University for a while. Then, she joined Lafayette College. At Lafayette, she was known for teaching math in a special way. She showed students how math can help solve problems related to fairness in society. She became a Professor and later led the Math Department.

Helping Students Succeed

In 2008, Professor Kimber started a special program. It was called the Summer Program to Advance Leadership in STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This program helped new college students. It was for students who are often not well-represented in STEM fields. They took college-level writing and math classes. This helped them get ready for college.

In 2018, Chawne received an important scholarship. It helped her attend the HERS Institute. This institute helps women become leaders in higher education. While she led the Math Department, she worked to make sure everyone felt welcome. She helped students understand that math is a key to many other fields.

New Role as Dean

In 2021, Chawne Kimber became the Dean of the College. This new role is at Washington and Lee University. As Dean, she is in charge of many departments and programs. She helps make important decisions for the college. She works to support students and teachers.

Quilting as Art and Activism

still not (2019) by Chawne Kimber, displayed at the Renwick Gallery in 2022.

Family History and Inspiration

Chawne grew up seeing her great-grandmother's quilts. Her father loved these quilts very much. Chawne started quilting herself in 2005. Her interest grew even more after her father passed away in 2007. Her quilts are inspired by her great-grandmother's style. This style is similar to the famous Gee's Bend quilts. Chawne sees her work as a modern version of this tradition.

Quilts with a Message

In 2008, Chawne began making quilts with strong messages. She also started writing about them online. Some of her first quilts were inspired by challenging language and unfair messages she saw. Her work is part of the "modern Quilting" movement. This movement uses geometric designs and thought-provoking ideas. Besides quilting, Chawne has also shown mathematical origami. These are paper art pieces inspired by quilting.

Exhibitions and Recognition

Chawne Kimber's quilts are often shown in art exhibits and museums. The Paul Mellon Arts Center displayed her work in 2018. One of her quilts won first place at QuiltCon West in 2016. This quilt was inspired by the death of Eric Garner. Her quilts were also part of a show about "Quilts and Human Rights." This show was at the Pick Museum of Anthropology.

Her quilt called still not was bought by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It is now part of the Renwick Gallery's collection. This quilt uses fabrics from the middle of the last century. The museum explained that Chawne's choice of old cloth and free-form patterns connects to her family history. Her ancestors were enslaved in Alabama and worked with cotton. Her great-grandmother, Mamo, and other relatives expressed themselves through quilting. Mamo's stories were told through her quilts. Chawne continues this tradition today.

Connecting Math and Art

A writer for The Washington Post noted something interesting about Chawne. She tries to keep her math and quilting worlds separate. Some of her quilts are very different from the strict patterns of math. They are like jazz music made with fabric and stitches. They are improvisational, meaning they are made up as she goes. But one important idea connects both her math and her quilting. That idea is challenging unfairness and prejudice in the world. Her quilts are both timely and timeless.