Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences will host the 2025 J. Roderick Davis Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in Reid Chapel. This year’s featured speaker is Francis Su, Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College.

A self-described “mathematical explorer,” Su is widely recognized for his engaging teaching and scholarship. He is a former president of the Mathematical Association of America, a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the 2013 recipient of the prestigious Haimo Award, one of the nation’s highest honors for college mathematics faculty. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired and The New York Times.

Su is also the author of the acclaimed book Mathematics for Human Flourishing (2020), which won the 2021 Euler Book Prize. In it, he offers an inclusive vision of mathematics—what it is, who it is for and why it matters—not only as a discipline of skills but as a pathway to human development and flourishing.

In his lecture, “Mathematics for Human Flourishing: Building Virtues, Not Just Skills,” Su will challenge common notions of math as merely a tool for careers or a source of academic anxiety. Instead, he will argue that mathematics is a deeply human enterprise that meets basic longings for beauty, exploration and truth while cultivating virtues such as persistence, creativity, joy and wonder. Drawing from his own experiences, including friendship with an incarcerated man whose love for math reshaped Su’s perspective, he will show how mathematics can enrich the soul as much as the mind.

The Davis Lecture is free and open to the public, and all students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to attend.