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CHAT(+)s are discussion sessions for graduate students and faculty of the Department of Mathematics organized by the Diversity Committee. They are structured conversations about key issues, including discussions of issues relating to diversity, for graduate students (CHATs) and between graduate students and faculty (CHAT+s).
Upcoming CHAT+
Upcoming CHAT+
Disabilities in Academia
Disabilities in Academia
Moderators: Howy Jordan and Maya Ornstein
When: Tuesday April 18, 11:00AM-1:00PM
Who: Everyone, including graduate students, faculty, postdocs, lecturers and staff
What: The goal of this CHAT+ is to improve understanding of and destigmatizing disabilities
Reading material:
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.5194
Past CHAT+'s
Past CHAT+'s
Discussing the Campus Culture Survey
Discussing the Campus Culture Survey
Moderators: Lucas Gagnon and Breeann Wilson
When: Tuesday April 19, 11:15AM-12:45PM + lunch provided after the discussion
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The goal of this CHAT+ is to discuss the recent results of the Campus Culture Survey.
Reading material:
Serving First-Generation Students in our Classrooms
Serving First-Generation Students in our Classrooms
Moderators: Jennifer Gensler and Breeann Wilson
When: Tuesday November 30, 11:00AM-12:00PM + lunch provided after the discussion
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The goal of this CHAT+ is to educate our faculty and grads in order to promote the success of first-generation students in our classrooms.
Reading material:
https://all4ed.org/blog/the-challenges-and-privileges-of-being-a-first-generation-college-student/
https://firstgen.naspa.org/files/dmfile/FactSheet-01.pdf (this is a graphic)
Here are some additional readings that may prove insightful:
https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/firstgen/challenges.html
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/06/01/first-generation-grad-student-laments-lack-career-opportunities-academe-opinion
Interrupting Sexism in Advanced Mathematics
Interrupting Sexism in Advanced Mathematics
Moderators: Gabe Lopez and Levi Lorenzo
When: 4/6/2021
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The goal of the CHAT+ organized for April 6th is to discuss our experiences with sexism in advanced mathematics and how we can each play an active role in addressing and dismantling that sexism.
Reading material:
https://www.womendomath.org/research/ (this is a graphic)
http://www.theliberatedmathematician.com/2015/12/why-i-do-not-talk-about-math/
Here are some additional readings which may prove insightful:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/roots-of-unity/q-a-with-autumn-kent/
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html
https://www.womendomath.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Undergrad-Program-First-Findings-from-WATCH-US_JMM-version.pdf
https://nplusonemag.com/issue-34/essays/sexism-in-the-academy/?fbclid=IwAR3DSxk_5VaQKOrqhhOVmtxlhBSLZcJgKGfjJE8Cc7-_s-0mNOG_WY9w4kI
Diversity Statement Workshop
Diversity Statement Workshop
Moderators: Shen Lu and Flor Orosz
When: 11/24/2020
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The Diversity Committee is excited to host an in-house Diversity Statement Workshop modeled after a past GTP Workshop: Crafting Diversity Statements.
Increasingly, higher education institutions are invested in bringing in individuals who will contribute to a culture of inclusion and equity. One of the common ways of assessing an applicant’s commitment to such efforts is by requesting a diversity statement. Setting aside the effectiveness of this practice, we wish to provide some resources on how to prepare one’s diversity statement. We hope this workshop can also create a space for everyone to share their ideas and experience, as well as ask questions regarding working towards a diversity statement with substance.
Reading material:
https://blogs.ams.org/inclusionexclusion/2019/12/17/diversity-22/ by Piper
https://ofew.berkeley.edu/recruitment/contributions-diversity/rubric-assessing-candidate-contributions-diversity-equity (Sample Rubric to Assess Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from UC Berkeley)
Additional readings will be shared during the workshop.
Identifying and combating racism in our community
Identifying and combating racism in our community
Moderators: Sarah Arpin and Jonathan Quartin
When: 6/24/2020
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The CHAT+ on Wednesday, June 24th will be on the topic of identifying and combating racism in our community, and on what actions we as instructors, professors, administrators, graduate students, TA’s can take in this effort. We hope that conversation and education on these issues will strengthen us as an inclusive community. Our goal for this CHAT+ is to create a space for such a discussion. The articles linked at the end of this email will be the jumping off point. If you have comments or other suggestions regarding this event (before or after), please let us (JQ and Sarah A.) know via this anonymous form - feel free to self-identify if you’d like us to respond directly to you.
During the CHAT+, we plan to do a 5-10 minute introduction, and then breakout into groups of ~4 for a 30 minute discussion. We will then return to the main room and review the highlights of the small group discussion.
Reading material:
Inclusion for Black Mathematicians: A Q&A with Edray Goins by Mariah Stewart (A Q&A with Dr. Edray Goins, a Black mathematician at Pomona College)
Do Their Stereotypes Affect Your Teaching? by Manya Whitaker (Specifically regarding classroom environments)
“Am I going crazy?!”: A Critical Race Analysis of Doctoral Education by Ryan Evely Gildersleeve, Natasha N. Croom, and Philip L. Vasquez (A scientific study on how race affects graduate students’ experiences).
For further readings, please see the list of resources on the #ShutDownSTEM website.
A word from ... Abigail Thompson
A word from ... Abigail Thompson
Moderators: Sarah Arpin and Shen Lu
When: 02/26/2020
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The diversity committee is pleased to announce that we will be holding a CHAT+ on Wednesday, February 26th to discuss the article “A Word from… Abigail Thompson” by Abigail Thompson that appeared in the December 2019 Notices and some of the responses from the mathematical community. We encourage you to take a look at the following readings before the event as your time allows. For faculty members, we hope these discussions will be valuable when it comes to evaluating applicants and supporting graduate students writing their job applications.
Reading material:
“A Word from… Abigail Thompson” by Abigail Thompson: https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/201911/rnoti-p1778.pdf
“Letters to the Editors - Responses to ‘A Word from… Abigail Thompson’”: https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/202001/rnoti-o1.pdf
“Rubric to Assess Candidate Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” used by UC Berkeley: https://ofew.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/rubric_to_assess_candidate_contributions_to_diversity_equity_and_inclusion.pdf
“Diversity Statements” by Izabella Laba: https://ilaba.wordpress.com/2019/12/01/diversity-statements/
“Who Needs a Diversity Statement Anyway?” by Omayra Ortega: https://www.mathvalues.org/masterblog/who-needs-a-diversity-statement-anyway
How the travel ban can affect higher education
How the travel ban can affect higher education
Moderators: Sarah Arpin and Natalie Coston
When: 03/08/2017
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: To learn how these policies can affect our community and how we can support groups that are marginalized in our department and make everyone feel welcomed. And snacks!
The diversity committee believes that diverse perspectives and ideas are catalysts for progress in mathematics. We want to look at and discuss why diverse perspectives are so important to what we do and how we can ensure the preservation and promotion of these diverse perspectives. Although the diversity committee regards some recent government actions as counter to these goals, the CHAT+ will not be a place to discuss these actions. We will focus on how we can foster inclusiveness in our department.
Reading material: Pending immigration policies and the University of Colorado Article 10
http://www.cu.edu/regents/laws-and-policies/regent-laws/article-10-nondiscrimination
Department Climate
Department Climate
Moderators: Sarah Salmon and the Diversity Committee
When: 10/14/2016
Who: Grad students
What: We will be discussing the current climate in the department. Ian and Athena will be sharing the results of their survey which we will use as a jumping-off point for our discussion. Whether or not you filled out the climate survey, you should come and discuss your perception of the climate of the department and the perceptions of your peers along with visions for building the atmosphere you would like in the department.
Nuances of Affirmative Action and the coming Supreme Court Decision
Nuances of Affirmative Action and the coming Supreme Court Decision
Moderators: Sarah and the Diversity Committee
When: 4/18/2016
Who: Grad students
What: The Diversity Committee would like to host a final CHAT before the end of the semester to discuss the Fisher vs UT Austin, "affirmative action", case being heard in the Supreme Court and food will be provided. Many of us plan to stay in academia at one level or another, so this will continue to affect us long into the future. Whatever your stance on affirmative action, please join us as our goals are to better understand and be able to verbalize the nuances of this issue since this will help us talk to our friends, colleagues, and even future employers as we enter the job search.
Reading material:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_v._University_of_Texas
Mentoring
Mentoring
Moderators: Faan Tone
When: 2/2/2016
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: As part of the University's effort to improve diversity and inclusive excellence, each unit has been asked to create a document describing these issues within our department. The Diversity Committee has made a list of key areas that we think are important, and we will talk about the first of these (mentoring) at the CHAT+ tomorrow. Please attend if you can!
Followup CHAT to “Can Being Culturally Aware Make Us Better Educators?”
Followup CHAT to “Can Being Culturally Aware Make Us Better Educators?”
Moderators: Matt & Sarah
When: 11/16/2015
Who: All math faculty, staff, and graduate students
What: The Diversity Committee will be hosting a followup CHAT today at 11 in MATH 350. We will continue the discussion we had last time about ways in which cultural and racial differences can play a role in the classroom. Even if you were unable to attend last time, please join us!
Can Being Culturally Aware Make Us Better Educators?
Can Being Culturally Aware Make Us Better Educators?
Moderators: The Diversity Committee
When: 10/16/2015
Who: Grad students
What: The Diversity Committee hopes we can have some positive and productive conversations that will improve our teaching and our department as a whole.
Reading material:
http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/white-fragility-and-the-rules-of-engagement-twlm/
http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/10-ways-well-meaning-white-teachers-bring-racism-into-our-schools/
http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/07/why-white-people-struggle-with-racism/
You may also want to take this implicit bias test (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html) as a way to discover some wording that can help in this conversation as well as provide a common frame from which people can enter into the conversation.
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