Our Department acknowledges and opposes the racism and exclusion that have historically been present in mathematics and statistics communities. We seek to undertake self-examination, educate ourselves, and to work to effect change about the ways in which this historical and current marginalization manifests in our classrooms, policies, recruitment, and research. We will work to build a vibrant community that actively and equitably supports all of its members.
Activities that the department has engaged in include:
- Participation in #ShutDownSTEM on June 10, 2020, during which over forty department members met to discuss the changes that need to happen. Several working groups were formed to follow up on the ideas from this discussion.
- Organization of a Collaborative Workday for incorporating social justice principles into Mathematics and Statistics curricula, primarily by looking at relevant data sets that could be used in our courses.
- Discussions on reassessing our assessment practices, including consideration of the ways that traditional assessment strategies negatively impact historically excluded groups and possible alternatives.
- Incorporating best practices into our faculty recruitment and hiring policies.
The department would also like to amplify the following messages posted by Mathematics and Statistics professional organizations.