About Darci L. Kracht
I am an NTT (non-tenure track) Lecturer in the
Department of Mathematical Sciences
at
Kent State University.
Although I have lived in Kent, Ohio for more than 20 years, I am originally from the Pittsburgh area, growing up in Mt. Lebanon and Emsworth. I graduated from Avonworth High School in 1981.
After high school, I entered
Kent State University
as an architecture major.
I changed my major to computer science during my sophomore year.
However, I still love architecture and am a big fan of
Frank Lloyd Wright.
A few years ago I went to a math conference at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
and got to see many FLW buildings including several homes in Madison,
a beautiful Unitarian church, and his home and studio,
Taliesin
in nearby Spring Green.
I was lucky enough to spend the spring semester of my junior year (1984) in Israel on a program with two KSU professors and a dozen or so students. We spent the first 6 weeks in an Ulpan program at Kibbutz Gal'on. This means we studied Hebrew and worked on the kibbutz. I worked in the citrus groves picking oranges and grapefruit. On rainy days, I worked in the fan factory wiring the switches of oscillating table fans. I loved the kibbutz and the people I met there. We then went to Haifa to study at the University of Haifa. I took courses in Hebrew language, Israeli art, and Biblical archaeology. My archaeology professor (who was a kibbutznik) took us on several field trips to sites such as Hazor, Megiddo, and sites in Jerusalem. For spring break (during Passover), some friends and I traveled to Egypt. We spent time in Cairo, visited the pyramids of Giza, and took a train trip up the Nile (that is, south) to Luxor to visit the many temples and tombs, including King Tut's.
I graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics (Theoretical Computer Science) in 1985. After a brief return to Pittsburgh, I went back to KSU to study mathematics and teach. I earned my M.A. in Pure Mathematics in 1989 and completed the course work and some research for a Ph.D. in Mathematics (finite group theory). I served on the Graduate Student Senate for several years-- first as our departmental representative and then as Executive Chair (1994-95). I also used to publish the Math and Computer Science Graduate Student Newsletter.
I have been teaching mathematics and computer science (primarily the former) at Kent State University since 1986. Currently, I serve as the course coordinator for Intuitive Calculus (Math 11012) and Explorations in Modern Mathematics (Math 11008).
In 1990, I married
Michael Stacey,
who is now a computer systems analyst for
the pharmacological information publisher
Lexi-Comp.
Some of you might remember when he worked on the computer systems staff in
The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
at
Kent State University.
When I met him, though, he was a rock star!
For 15 years, he made his living
playing guitar
in the critically acclaimed Northeastern Ohio band
15-60-75 (The Numbers Band).
My roommate, Rose, and I used to go down to JB's on N. Water St.
every Wednesday and Saturday to see the band.
(We were both between boyfriends.
Not sure why we thought a seedy bar was the best place to go looking for
new prospects, but we both loved to dance.
Anyway, it worked out for me!)
At the time, I was teaching college algebra in Franklin Hall.
Some good-looking guy who was in calculus the next class period
used to come early and hang out in the hallway outside my classroom
door smoking a cigarette.
(These were the days before the non-smoking rules.)
About halfway through the semester, it dawned on me that that guy was the
same guy I saw playing guitar twice a week!
(Wow! Cute, talented, and smart!)
Well, the rest, as they say, is history.
In 1996 Michael and I spent a month traveling in South Africa.
We were able to view elephants, giraffes, rhino, monkeys, wild dogs,
and even penguins in the wild.
I have
posted a few pictures
of wildlife and South African friends
(mostly mathematicians!).
We have a daughter, Claire.
She was born the day after Thanksgiving in 1998
after a
frantic turnpike trip from Pittsburgh to Akron.
Many more pictures (although mostly older ones)
are posted on
her homepage.
My latest expensive hobby is beading. Here are pictures of a few of my creations.