Diversity Workshop at UCR

I’m organizing a workshop to promote diversity in math here at UCR:

• Riverside Mathematics Workshop for Excellence and Diversity, Friday 8 November 2019, U. C. Riverside.

It’s right before the applied category theory meeting, so I hope some of you can make both… especially since the category theorist Eugenia Cheng will be giving a talk!

Three talks will take place in Skye Hall—home of the math department—starting at 1 pm. After this we’ll have refreshments and an hour for students to talk to the speakers. Starting at 6 pm there will be a reception across the road at the UCR Alumni Center, with food and a panel discussion on the challenges we face in promoting diversity at U.C. Riverside.

All the talks will be in Skye 282:

• 1:00–1:50 p.m. Abba Gumel, Arizona State University.

Some models for enhancing diversity and capacity-building in STEM education in under-represented minority communities.

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education is undoubtedly the necessary bedrock for the development and sustenance of the vitally-needed knowledge-based economy that fuels and sustains the development of modern nations. Central to STEM education are, of course, the mathematical science … which are the rock-solid foundation of all the natural and engineering sciences. Hence, it is vital that all diverse populations are not left behind in the quest to build and sustain capacity in the mathematical sciences. This talk focuses on discussion around a number of pedagogic and mentorship models that have been (and are being) used to help increase diversity and capacity-building in STEM education in general, and in the mathematical sciences in particular, in under-represented minority populations. Some examples from Africa, Canada and the U.S. will be presented.

• 2:00–2:50. Marissa Loving, Georgia Tech.

Where do I belong? Creating space in the math community.

I will tell the story of my mathematical journey with a focus on my time in grad school. I will be blunt about the ups and downs I have experienced and touch on some of the barriers (both structural and internalized) I have encountered. I will also discuss some of the programs and spaces I have helped create in my quest to make the mathematics community into a place where folks from historically under-represented groups (particularly women of color) can feel safe, seen, and free to devote their energy to their work. If you have ever felt like you don’t belong or worried that you have made others feel that way, this talk is for you.

• 3:00–3:50 p.m. Eugenia Cheng, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Inclusion–exclusion in mathematics and beyond: who stays in, who falls out, why it happens, and what we could do about it.

The question of why women and minorities are under-represented in mathematics is complex and there are no simple answers, only many contributing factors. I will focus on character traits, and argue that if we focus on this rather than gender we can have a more productive and less divisive conversation. To try and focus on characters rather than genders I will introduce gender-neutral character adjectives “ingressive” and “congressive” as a new dimension to shift our focus away from masculine and feminine. I will share my experience of teaching congressive abstract mathematics to art students, in a congressive way, and the possible effects this could have for everyone in mathematics, not just women. Moreover I will show that abstract mathematics is applicable to working towards a more inclusive, congressive society in this politically divisive era. This goes against the assumption that abstract math can only be taught to high level undergraduates and graduate students, and the accusation that it is removed from real life.

• 4:00–4:30 p.m. Refreshments in Skye 284.

• 4:30–5:30 p.m. Conversations Between Speakers & Students, Not Faculty, in Skye 284.

• 6:00–6:45 p.m. Reception with Food at the Alumni Center.

• 6:45 – 7:45 p.m. Panel Discussion at Alumni Center with Alissa Crans, Jose Gonzalez and Paige Helms, moderated by Edray Goins.