Una Bray
Una Bray, associate professor of mathematics emerita, died April 30, 2019. She was 72.
Una joined Skidmore as an assistant professor of mathematics in 1985 and helped to spearhead the College’s quantitative reasoning requirement. She was promoted to associate professor in 1992.
In addition to teaching courses in linear algebra and calculus, as well as the Mathematics 100 course, which she helped to develop, Una offered courses in liberal studies, international affairs and other programs. A specialist in division rings, she became interested in epidemiology and food studies in her later years. She retired in 2013.
Colleagues remember her as a tireless and vocal advocate for faculty causes, including gender equity and compensation. They also recalled her dedication to her students and sense of humor.
"Una Bray was a wonderful colleague and a dear family friend. She was really one of a kind and the most generous, kindest person: smart, vivacious, funny, generous and, above all, compassionate,” said Hédi A. Jaouad, professor of French. “We’ll miss her contagious laughter, sharp wit and quirky humor."
Born in Limerick, Ireland, on May 4, 1946, Una immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in the Bronx. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York, her master’s degree in mathematics from Brooklyn College and her doctorate from the Polytechnic Institute of New York.
Survivors include her husband, Lyle Hayes; her daughters, Molly Bray-Hayes ’10 and Deirdre Kornhiser; siblings Mairead, Sean and Patrick Bray, and Anya Skyler.