Erna Beth Yackel

She died at her home in Dyer, Indiana on September 1, 2022, at the age of 83.

Yackel taught statistics at Purdue while she was working on her doctorate, and for several years co-taught "Overcoming Math Anxiety", a noncredit class. She was a member of the faculty at Purdue University Northwest from 1984 until she retired in 2004. Early in her career, she won a Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation. She spoke at international conferences in her field. In 1992, she received the Golden Hawk Award from Dickinson State University. In 2005, she received a Distinguished Education Alumni Award from Purdue University.

Erna Beth married fellow academic James Yackel in 1960, while they were both graduate students in Minneapolis. They had three children, including attorney Juliet Yackel, computer science professor Jonathan Yackel, and Carolyn Yackel, a noted mathematician.

Erna Beth was born in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Carsten Herman Seecamp and Ida Julia Zepik Seecamp. Both of her parents were from Canada; her father was a clergyman born in Germany, and the family lived in various rural places in Canada during her childhood. She earned a bachelor's degree at Dickinson State University in 1957, at age 18, and a master's degree in mathematics at the University of Minnesota at age 21. She later completed doctoral studies in mathematics education at Purdue University in 1984. Her dissertation was titled "Characteristics of Problem Representation Indicative of Understanding in Mathematics Problem Solving".

Erna Beth Seecamp Yackel (February 13, 1939 – September 1, 2022) was an American college professor and math educator. She was a member of the faculty at Purdue University Northwest from 1984 to 2004.