Matt Boelkins

This is my tenth year at Grand Valley in the department of mathematics.  I began at GVSU in the fall of 1998 after completing my Ph.D. in the department of mathematics at Syracuse University in May 1998 under the supervision of L. J. Lardy.  Prior to my work at Syracuse, I studied for my masters degree at Western Washington University, working primarily with R. J. Gardner.  Continuing back in time, my bachelor's degree was received from Geneva College in 1991, again in mathematics.  

I grew up mostly in the great plains of North Dakota, living in Grand Forks and rooting for the UND hockey team.  At 15, my family moved to Beaver Falls, PA, where my father took a job at the aforementioned Geneva College.

I enjoy working at Grand Valley, and have been blessed by many people (students and faculty alike) with whom I've had the privilege of interacting.  When you spend 11 years in college and grad school, it is a real gift to have that time followed with a fun, exciting, and challenging job ... it doesn't always work out that way.

My wife, Ruth, and I have two sons, ages 12 and 9, and a daughter, 5; the kids are the focus of nearly every aspect of our life.  Our family enjoys board games, Texas Hold'Em Poker, fishing, all things sports-related (but especially hockey), spending time at the beach on wonderful Lake Michigan, and not watching television -- we gave up TV completely in November 2000, and though we now own a television again, we rarely watch it save for the occasional movie and major sporting events.  Amazingly, I've actually read a bunch of books for fun since I stopped spending more than 500 hours a year in front of the tube.  

When not working or spending time with my family, I love to go fishing or play golf.  Fishing more than golf these days:  check out my photo gallery.

Finally, I have to confess to being Dutch, as this genealogy attests.