Author Spotlight: Bernard L. Dillard

Name: Bernard L. Dillard

School: Fashion Institute of Technology

Academic Title at School: Associate Professor of Mathematics

Author of Moneymatics: Where Money and Mathematics Meet

1. What was lacking on the market that led you to create this product?​

I have been terribly disappointed with the lack of exposure college students have with respect to basic financial literacy. Very few institutions offer math courses that claim to address student deficiencies related to personal finance. Similarly, very few mathematics textbooks tackle such topics. Through this textbook, students are exposed to basic ideas in personal finance (credit scores, retirement, mortgages, budgeting, student loans, etc.) while simultaneously being held to a relatively rigorous mathematical standard.

2. Please describe what, if any, technology accompanies the text?​

Certain problems in the student exercises require students to use Microsoft Excel to solve. After addressing the mathematics undergirding some of the ideas in the text, students are encouraged to use Excel to reinforce various results. In the chapters dealing with linear regression and time series, students are provided with adequate Excel tutorial training in the text to help them navigate through relevant material, specifically as it relates to using the Data Analysis ToolPak.

3. Describe your experience with Kendall Hunt publishing’s editors and support staff.

Kendall Hunt’s editors and support staff over the past 13 years have been a delight to work with. They are attentive to my goals and objectives of the project, while at the same offer concrete suggestions in order to create the best possible project.

4. Describe some of your student’s and colleague’s comments and success in the classroom with the use of this publication.​

It is hot off the press, so its first official use will be during the fall of 2017.However, I have taught from the notes that provide the basis for textbook content. Upon evaluating the course, students generally are thankful for a course like this.Most comments fall along the lines of: “Yes! A math course I can finally use in my everyday life!”

5. What you’ve done to make switching to your book easy​?

Reference materials, including quizzes, semester exams, a final exam, and Excel laboratory exercises are currently available for all instructors to use via the website that Kendall Hunt has set up for the textbook.Instructors will also be pleased to know that, starting fall of 2018, a set of ancillary materials will be available to assist with the teaching of the book’s content.Consisting primarily of PowerPoint slides, this resource should remove most of the anxiety that may accompany the teaching of a course using this textbook for the first time.