Left to right: Eddie Bradley, RBC Regional Manager of Retail Banking; David Hammett, RBC Bank Market Executive for the Asheville Area; Dr. David Peifer, UNC Asheville Math Department Chair and Professor; and UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder

UNC Asheville's Math Literacy Summit has helped local K-12 teachers, parents and students build better math skills. Now the annual event is also receiving support from RBC Bank. The bank recently donated $5,000 to support the 2009 daylong event, which featured a keynote address by noted mathematician and University of Arizona professor William Velez followed by eight workshops.

"RBC Bank is proud to support UNC Asheville and the Math Literacy Summit as education is a key focus for us in our charitable giving," said David Hammett, RBC Bank market executive for the Asheville area and UNC Asheville Foundation board member. "Community outreach and education help drive and sustain vibrant communities and RBC Bank is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of our clients and the communities we call home."

Plans are already under way for the 2010 Math Literacy Summit, which is sponsored by the UNC Asheville Mathematics Department's Asheville Initiative for Math (AIM). AIM's mission is to promote excellence in math education and universal math literacy in the Asheville region.

For more information, contact Sam Kaplan, UNC Asheville associate professor of mathematics, at 828/232-5192.