Philip Kains

Education

• B.S., Southern Illinois University
• M.S., University of Mississippi
• Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Dr. Kains joined Belhaven as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2023, and already feels right at home. His primary area of mathematical interest is Graph Theory, but he’s also interested in other areas such as Matroid Theory and Linear Algebra. During his undergraduate studies, Dr. Kains studied engineering, computer science, finance, and statistics, all contributing to and enhancing his understanding of mathematics. He now plans to use that background to relate to Belhaven’s many STEM students.

The passion Dr. Kains has for teaching was originally revealed to him through coaching. Over the past ten years, he has coached six seasons of baseball and three seasons of basketball. His coaching philosophy of “educate and encourage” now informs his teaching in the classroom.

Additional interests include mathematical games, music, philosophy, science, and “solving” football strategy. One of his goals is to write an undergraduate level Matroid Theory textbook that introduces students to the field while preparing and motivating them for graduate studies.

Dr. Kains has been married to his wife, Christy, since 2019. They enjoy working with kids at the church and doing mission work. They have a dog named Ted who specializes in high fives and being a good boy.

Areas of Expertise

• Graph Theory
• Matroid Theory
• Linear Algebra
• Mathematics Education
• STEM

Teaching Focus

• College Algebra
• Elementary Statistics
• Linear Algebra
• Calculus and Analytic Geometry
• Engineering Statistics
• Differential Equations