Exciting. Thrilling. Mysterious. Beautiful.

The passion Walt Potter feels for his chosen field is defined by the words with which he describes it. Still, math...thrilling? Beautiful?

He explains, "Studying mathematics is like an exciting mystery unfolding before your eyes. There is a thrill that comes with solving a problem, and the beauty lies in the unexpected twists and turns along the way."

Potter has felt such excitement since his first mathematical experiment during his freshman year in high school. He knew that teaching math would be his calling, and he originally intended to teach at a high school level. While he did not anticipate working in a university setting, he never dreamed he would begin his teaching career in Africa.

Upon completing his doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin, he launched a job search, a task more difficult than he had imagined. "In 1974, the market for teachers was awful," he says. "A friend of a friend asked if I'd be interested in teaching in Nigeria, and I said ‘okay.’ The facilities there were rugged, but the students were very capable."

After spending three years teaching at the University of Jos and the University of Abaden, Potter returned to the University of Wisconsin. For ten years, he served as both a professor and administrator, directing the mathematics tutorial program. While he enjoyed his time there, he eventually felt it was time to return full-time to the classroom.

"I needed to get away from ‘cafeteria education.’ I had classes of up to 350 students, so I couldn't feel a part of an individual's educational experience. I think that can have a negative impact on both the student and the teacher."

He says one of his great joys since coming to Southwestern in 1988 has been the opportunity to work with students on an individual basis. He's currently involved in research projects with three of his honor students. "It's very exciting because we study interesting questions, and I get to learn from these very bright students. It is really satisfying to work with someone on an intellectual endeavor."

One of his former honor students is Joey King '93, founder and chief scientist of Elgon Research and co-founder of the Seattle-based technology companies Indaba Communications Inc. and Zama Networks Inc. Last year, King returned to Southwestern to establish the King Creativity Fund, which annually supports "innovative and visionary projects" of enrolled students. Senior Charles Lindsey, an honor student currently working with Potter, received one of the grants to further his research of automated program verification.

Since 1970, Potter's specialty has been finite group theory, the study of symmetry. His continuing research in this field has provided him the opportunity to experience "a larger community."

"It's important to realize that we're not just Southwestern. We are a part of a large world, and we must interact on that scale. It's really important for an academic, because what we do extends beyond the borders of this campus."

Potter and his spouse, Julia, have two children: Bobby, 15, a sophomore at Georgetown High School; and Danny, 13, a seventh-grader who loves bikes and rollerblading. He also has two children from a previous marriage: Tricia, 25, an accountant living in Wisconsin; and Steven, 21, a junior journalism major at the University of Wisconsin. While he claims to have more interests than he has time for—including his dreams to build a sailboat and learn to play guitar—Potter says his spirituality is very important to him.

"One of the things we do here is work with students and faculty with amazing gifts. We can learn to use these gifts to live in harmony with each other, and that is something beyond the classroom that can be a wonderful thing for Southwestern."