R. Stanton Hales

Who is R. Stanton Hales?

R. Stanton Hales, Jr. is an American mathematician and educator, specializing in combinatorics. He was named president of The College of Wooster in 1995, and retired from the College in July 2007. Prior to his appointment as president, he served as vice president for academic affairs at Wooster from 1990 to 1995. He was also a professor in the department of mathematics and computer science. Since 2007, he has been a senior consultant affiliated with Academic Search, Inc..

A native of Pasadena, CA, Hales attended Polytechnic School in Pasadena. In 1964, he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California. He then earned masters and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow during the 1964-1965 academic year and served as a teaching fellow from 1965-1967.

Hales joined the faculty of his alma mater, Pomona, in 1967. He was named associate dean of the college at Pomona in 1973 and served for one year as acting dean. In 1971, he received the Rudolph J. Wig Distinguished Professorship Award at Pomona. In 2004, Hales received an honorary doctorate of science degree from Pomona. Dr. Hales was among prestigious company: Walter Cronkite was a fellow degree recipient. In 2011, he received the honorary degree doctor of laws from The College of Wooster, and in 2013, the honorary degree doctor of humane letters from Centre College.