There was an unassuming waitress, Gail Fahoome, who decided to have a second career. She completed the Bachelor’s degree at WSU in 1992 while in her mid-40s. She also obtained a secondary math and computer science teaching certificate, which led to her new career as a school teacher in the Detroit Public Schools.

Two years later, she embarked on a third career, by working on a Master’s in Evaluation and Research. OK, she shlepped out her Master’s program for five years, until 1998, when she was forced to complete her thesis, because the following semester, after having completed all of her doctoral coursework, she needed to defend the proposal for her doctoral dissertation. That is why, in 1999, only one year after she obtained the Master’s, she was awarded the Ph. D. in EER. In this career she began as a university lecturer, and ultimately she was an Assistant Professor.

She was primarily a student of the late Prof. Donald Marcotte, co-inventor of the nonparametric Page-Marcotte test. However, there was one doctoral course in which she especially excelled, which was Monte Carlo methods. It is an approach to solving problems by repeating an experiment billions and billions of times, via a high speed computer.

Monte Carlo methods were initially used by researchers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada in the Manhattan Project regarding neutron transport in fissile material to develop the atomic bomb. In 1977, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution 32/50, where they were convinced there was a peaceful use of nuclear energy. A few years later, former United States President Ronald Regan called on the “scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace.” Throughout the 1980s, there were dozens of workers around the world who answered President Regan’s call.

That number grew to thousands in the 1990s, and among them was Gail Fahoome. Along with many others, she transformed the use of Monte Carlo methods, the primary research methodology responsible for the development of atomic weaponry, into a methodology for small samples studies in the social and behavioral sciences, which is key to the improvement of the quality of life.

This is what she did: By 1998, it was time for Gail to determine a topic to study for her dissertation. A Monte Carlo topic was proposed to study an important question that had persisted for half a century. The sample size of the experiment dictated whether nonparametric statistics should be conducted in one of two ways. Many textbook authors opined whether approach A or approach B should be used; some authors even gave one opinion in one part of their book and a contrary opinion in another part of their book!

Gail decided to conduct the definitive Monte Carlo study to answer this question, so workers in the field would not have to guess. Whereas most Monte Carlo researchers would examine the properties of a single statistical method, or at most a comparison of two methods, Gail conducted a massive examination of all 21 statistical tests in the discipline; yes, that is right, she essentially conducted 21 dissertations. You wouldn’t have trouble missing it on the shelves in the library – it is 518 pages and nearly 4 inches thick.

It is the definitive, go-to published work. Medical researchers, drug manufacturers, psychological researchers, and yes, of course educational researchers can conduct powerful experiments with much smaller sample sizes, saving cost, time, and so forth, in order to determine which intervention is successful, or which treatment has a more rapid positive impact on recipients.

Ultimately, Gail co-published a book on Monte Carlo methods. Along the way, she sat on over a dozen doctoral committees lending her expertise in helping others (including some of you here today) in obtaining their doctoral degrees. She used her expertise to publish in family medicine, emergency medicine, sport and exercise physiology, and she even published entries in statistical encyclopedias.

Gail was just getting started. She was about to embark on her fourth career. At her request, on May 6 I wrote a letter of recommendation to the Law School Admission Council on her behalf. After extolling her academic acumen, I noted that I had served as her mentor, her colleague, and her friend. Alas, Gail was only to have three careers, not four.

May those who mourn for Gail be comforted, and those knew her celebrate those memories.

Gail Frances Fahoome Assistant Professor - Clinical

Responsibilities

Dr. Fahoome is the program coordinator for Educational Evaluation and Research. Among her responsibilities as program coordinator are course scheduling, assisting faculty in the process of new course approval, represent the department inthe College, and recruitment of new students.

She is the advisor for EER Masters' students. She serves on over thirty doctoral committees, and often assists doctoral candidates on their dissertations.

This semester Dr. Fahoome is teaching Multivariate Analysis (EER 8820), Nonparametric, Permutation, Exact, and Robust Methods (EER 8860), Advanced Quantitative Program Evaluation (EER 8720), and Monte Carlo Methods (EER 8880).

Other courses she frequently teaches are Fundamentals of Statistics (EER 7630), Analysis of Variance and Covariance (EER 8800), Structural Equation Modeling (EER 8840) and Research and Experimental Design (EER 8992).

Biography

Dr. Fahoome completed her bachelor's degree at WSU in 1992, with a teaching certificate for secondary mathematics. She was employed as a high school math teacher for the Detroit Public Schools for five and a half years. She taught at Rogers Academy, Cass Technical High School, and Northern High School. She returned to Wayne State in 1994 to pursue a masters' degree in EER. She earned her PhD in EER in 1999.

Dr. Fahoome has been working at Wayne State University since 1999. She began as an adjunct while completing her dissertation. She started in Fall of 2000 as a full-time lecturer. For the past two years she has been an Assistant Professor - Clinical. In January 2009 Dr. Fahoome became Program Coordinator for the EER program.

Degrees and Certifications

Wayne State University, December 1992, B.S.
Wayne State University, May 1998, M.Ed.
Wayne State University, December 1999, Ph.D.
 

Certification: State of Michigan Professional Teaching Certificate: Secondary Level
7-12 Mathematics (EX), 7-12 Computer Science (NR)
Granted October 7, 1992; Renewed September 9, 1998, 
Expired June 20, 2003                

Area of Expertise

Monte Carlo Methods, Structural Equation Modeling, and Program Evaluation

Recent Publications The development of an instrument for measuring healing Meza, J. and Fahoome, G. (2008) Annals of Family Medicine 6 355-360 The Median Test Fahoome, G., & Sawilowsky, S. (2006) Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics The theory of planned behavior: predicting physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness Martin, J.J., Kulinna, P., McCaughtry, N., Cothran, D., Dake, J., & Fahoome, G. (2005) Journal of Sport and Exercise Physiology Potential impact of a targeted cardiopulmonary resuscitation program for older adults on survival from private-residence cardiac arrest Swor, R., Fahoome, G., & Compton, S. (2005) Academic Emergency Medicine 12 (1) Friedman test Sawilowsky, S., & Fahoome, G. (2005) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Statistics Kruskal-Wallis test. Sawilowsky, S., & Fahoome, G. (2005) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Statistics Page test Sawilowsky, S., & Fahoome, G. (2005) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Statistics Wilcoxon signed rank test Sawilowsky, S., & Fahoome, G. (2005) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Statistics Twenty nonparametric statistics and their large-sample approximations Fahoome, G. (2002) Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods 1(2) 248-268 Rangen 2.0 (Fortran 90/95) Fahoome, G. (2001) Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods 1(1) 15 Statistics through Monte Carlo Simulation with Fortran Sawilowsky, S. S., & Fahoome, G. F. (0) Statistics through Monte Carlo Simulation with Fortran

As many of you may know my mom was scheduled to take the LSAT on June 10th. She was very excited about this new venture. She worked very hard on her Personal Statement for law school admission. We are so proud to share this with her friends, family, students, colleagues and everyone that loved and admired her.  



Gail F. Fahoome
Personal Statement



I have the education, skills and background that supports my ability to succeed in Law School and as a member of the profession. This statement will begin with my education. The next section will discuss the ways in which I have applied my education in my teaching, service and research at Wayne State University College of Education over the past thirteen years. The third section will address how my education and experience provide evidence of my commitment and potential for success in the WSU School of Law. In the conclusion, I discuss my reasons for seeking a law degree.

 
Education

When I returned to Wayne State University in 1990, my intention was to complete a BS in Education.  I planned to earn my degree and obtain a teaching certificate. I was not thinking of pursuing an advanced degree at that point. I majored in math and minored in computer science. We lived in northeast Detroit, and my daughter had graduated from Osborn High School. My twin sons were 13, and attended Burton International School.

I completed my degree in August of 1992 and I was determined to teach in Detroit. My first assignment was a small magnet school with a mandatory ROTC component for at-risk students. With some funding from the Department of Defense, students wore ROTC uniforms daily and had two ROTC classes a day. I had the opportunity to transfer to Cass Technical High School. After a year and a half at Cass, I was one of four math teachers cut for budgetary reasons. I accepted a position at Northern High School. These three environments gave me experience in teaching at-risk students, high achieving students, and a comprehensive urban high school experience.

At the same time, I entered the Master’s program WSU College of Education to obtain a Med in mathematics education. One of the first courses I took was on testing and measurement. I was immediately captivated by the instructor’s enthusiasm and the content of the course. We covered statistics, measurement and test construction. I was intrigued by the use of math and computers. I changed my program to Education Evaluation and Research (EER).

Near the end of my master’s program, I decided to pursue a doctorate in Evaluation and Research. I loved the courses, and especially the Monte Carlo course, which taught me Fortran programming and simulation modeling. After earning a doctorate in winter of 1999, the College of Education offered me a position as lecturer. I taught four courses each semester.  The EER program has a large service component, in that we offer courses to all the graduate students in the College. This meant that there was a wide range of student abilities and interest in quantitative methods. I developed a teaching style that is light-hearted, upbeat, and intended to make the anxiety-ridden students comfortable and relaxed so they could learn the material.

Experience and Service

I have taught in EER now for thirteen years and have I am now an Assistant Professor–Clinical and have also been the Program Coordinator for three and a half years. I chair three doctoral committees, sit on over 40 other doctoral committees, and advise all of our program’s master’s students. I have a record of service to the College that includes serving on the Executive Committee, Doctoral Academic Standards Committee, the Technical Committee and the Social Justice and Diversity Committee.

Every year for several years I have been asked to make a presentation to the McNair Scholars, a program for undergraduate students interested in pursuing research at the graduate level. I consult with faculty who need assistance on designing their research and/or evaluation sections for grant proposal. I have been employed as an evaluation consultant for a variety of educational programs, working for entities like the WSU School of Medicine, Saginaw Intermediate School District, and local projects of COE faculty. I also served for three years as the data analyst for a sub-committee organized under the Michigan Department of Education that is working on a uniform method of evaluating Teacher Education Programs. This summer I am working on three grants.

I received a request a couple of years ago from a family practice doctor from Henry Ford Hospital, and assisted him in develop an instrument to measure the trait of healing, and to test the reliability and validity of the instrument. He is in now the process of obtaining funding for a research grant with an interdisciplinary team, involving himself, two urologists, an anthropologist and me.

I have five published articles, I was second author of a textbook written by Dr. Shlomo S. Sawilowsky on Statistics Through Monte Carlo Methods with Fortran. I have written entries for The Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics (Sage, 2005) and Encyclopedia of Behavioral Statistics (Wiley, 2006). I am currently a reviewer for two medical journals, the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine and Family Medicine.

Potential for Success at Law

My education and skills in research and statistics demonstrate my ability to use inductive and abstract reasoning. Logic is extremely important to mathematics and statistics, as well as to research. I believe that the use of statistics in the practice of law will continue to increase. The ability to evaluate statistical information to help in making decisions is becoming more important in every discipline.

My experience through my work at the College of Education has enabled me to work across disciplines, communicate with diverse people, conduct independent and group tasks. I have done administrative duties, both as program coordinator and principal investigator. I am able to listen to people, help them to identify what they need and find a way to do it. 

Fairness and Equality

I have had the opportunity to work with the public for the better part of my adult life. In my daily encounters with people of all ages, cultures and nationalities, I learned that all of us have a fundamental desire to be treated fairly and equally. People are acutely aware of any social transaction that is unfair and/or unequal. When the relationship involves people with unequal power, such as between a teacher and a student, or police officer and a citizen, the effects can be very serious.

I have always spoken out in support of these principles, and have tried to live by them. My background provides a strong foundation for me to be able to listen to people’s problems and help them find a solution. I hope that, as a law student and future member of the Bar, I will be able to participate in and contribute to the development of new insights that will expand people’s access to fairness and equality. It is also my hope that through the further expansion of my knowledge and experience with the knowledge of the law, I will become a good attorney and be able to help in this process.