paraDIGMS Fall 2020

Diversity in the Graduate Mathematical Sciences

This online conference is the first event of the American Mathematical Society’s paraDIGMS initiative to build a community of practice for graduate education in mathematics, with the goal of making the profession stronger and more equitable. The AMS is grateful to have the support of IMSI for this conference. 

The goal of the conference is to highlight the work of individuals and organizations to build a diverse and equitable profession at the graduate level, while also challenging us to see how far we still have to go. With the understanding that diversity is multidimensional and intersectional, this conference has a particular focus on diversity and inclusion with respect to race and ethnicity.

The audience for this conference is the mathematical sciences community at large; individuals at all career stages and from all kinds of institutions (including undergraduate-only institutions) are welcome to participate. Participants may sign up for the conference even if they are not able to attend all sessions.

The conference will also include programming specifically for graduate program leaders: faculty members who are in leadership roles with respect to graduate education. This includes graduate directors and graduate committee members—current and soon-to-be—as well as department chairs and diversity committee members. These are the first events for the paraDIGMS working groups and workshops series. See the paraDIGMS homepage on the AMS website for more details about these programs. Note that there is an additional registration form to complete to participate in these activities.

There will be two sessions on each day of the conference, one at 2pm and one at 4pm ET. These sessions will be:

  • plenary talks
  • panel sessions
  • for grad program leaders: initial small working group meetings and an initial workshop
  • for participants who are not grad program leaders: small reading group meetups and an additional panel

The conference will take place online via Zoom. There are no costs associated with attending.

Speakers and panelists include:

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the organizers by email: .

Statement of Inclusion

The organizers of the paraDIGMS Fall Conference are committed to creating an environment that is inclusive, supportive, and safe. We support the rights of all attendees to fully participate in the conference regardless of race, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, pregnancy, immigration status, or any other aspect of identity. Please see the AMS’s Policy on a Welcoming Environment.

Conference Policy on Harassment and Discrimination

All participants at the paraDIGMS Fall Conference will be treated with dignity and respect, and discrimination or harassment of any form will not be tolerated. Participants who do not comport themselves in keeping with the conference’s statement of inclusion will be banned from the conference and run the risk of being excluded from all future paraDIGMS programming. Please see the AMS’s Policy Statement on Anti-Harassment.

Organizing committee:

Contact:

Plenary Speakers

Dr. Raegan Higgins has been at Texas Tech since 2008 and is currently an Associate Professor in Mathematics. She earned her BS from Xavier University of Louisiana, and her MS and PhD from University of Nebraska. Dr. Higgins’ research is in time scales; the calculus of time scales was developed to unify and extend results obtained for differential equations and difference equations. Currently, she is focusing on applying time scales to model intermittent androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer. As a WOC, she is committed to the education, training, and mentoring of women in STEM. Dr. Higgins’ work with the EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) Program allows her to assist in strengthening the ability of women students to successfully complete graduate programs in the mathematical sciences and to place more women in visible leadership roles in the mathematics community. As the PI of the LS-AMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) Bridges Across Texas grant, Dr. Higgins assessed the barriers faced by URM students at both community colleges and four-year institutions in obtaining a baccalaureate STEM degree. She and her team have developed ways to address these needs and plan to implement them in 2021. 


Dr. Ebony McGee is an associate professor of diversity and STEM education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, where she studies what it means to be racially marginalized while minoritized in the context of learning and achieving in STEM higher education and in the STEM professions. Her NSF CAREER grant investigates how marginalization undercuts success through psychological stress, interrupted career trajectories, impostor phenomenon, and other debilitating race-related trauma for Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx doctoral students. Education is Dr. McGee’s second career, having worked in the field of electrical engineering prior to earning a PhD in mathematics education at UIC. Her first solo-authored book was released in October 2020 and is entitled Black, Brown, Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation.


Dr. William Y. Vélez earned all of his degrees from The University of Arizona where he is now an emeritus professor, completing his doctoral degree in mathematics in 1975. Velez’s research has focused on algebra and number theory as well as problems involving communication systems. His implementation of team mentoring strategies at his university resulted in strong minority attainment of degrees in mathematics and engineering. Dr. Velez served as president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science from 1994-96. During his tenure, he succeeded in changing the focus of the national conference to include a focus on graduate school application workshops. Dr Velez was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in 1997.


Workshop for graduate program leaders

Fundamentals: Equity in Graduate Admissions

Facilitators: Dr. Julie Posselt and Dr. Casey Miller


This session presents data and research about the role of typical admissions criteria and practices in maintaining racial/ethnic inequalities in graduate education. Suitable for a wide variety of audiences, practical strategies for rethinking typical admissions criteria and processes are introduced, with a focus on equity-based holistic review and embedding attention to equity throughout the admissions and recruitment process. All aspects of this session are rooted in current research. Participants will learn how common admissions mindsets & practices tend to inhibit access for underrepresented groups, and they will be introduced to strategies to improve diversity & equity through holistic review processes.


Panels

Panel #1: Representatives from public and private funding organizations

Dr. Lorelle L. Espinosa serves as program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, where she is responsible for developing and implementing evidence-based strategic priorities for the Foundation’s grantmaking to effectively advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in STEM higher education. Her portfolio includes oversight of the Foundation’s Minority PhD program, which supports nine University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring (UCEMs) nationwide. UCEMs provide fellowships, peer and faculty mentoring, and networking and professional development resources aimed at helping graduate students from underrepresented groups successfully complete graduate study in STEM fields. Dr. Espinosa also oversees the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership, a Sloan initiative that partners with eight U.S. campuses to help meet the specific needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students, enabling them to pursue advanced degrees in STEM while continuing to participate meaningfully in tribal life. 

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2020, Dr. Espinosa was Vice President for Research at the American Council for Education. In this role, she was responsible for building the organization’s research portfolio with special emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion; for promoting innovation and data use to close equity gaps; and for helping shape the national conversation around issues of access to and success in higher education for diverse populations. Dr. Espinosa began her career in student affairs and undergraduate education at the University of California, Davis, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Dr. Espinosa earned her PhD in higher education and organizational change from UCLA.

Dr. Karen Marrongelle is the head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation. EHR supports fundamental research that enhances learning and teaching, and broad efforts to achieve excellence in U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, at all levels and in all settings. Dr. Marrongelle previously served as a program director in the Division on Research and Learning within EHR. With Ping Li, she is the author of the book Having Success with NSF: A Practical Guide. Dr. Marrongelle earned her doctorate in mathematics education from the University of New Hampshire. Prior to her position at the NSF, she served as a professor of mathematics and statistics at Portland State University as well as dean of the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. During her tenure as dean, she worked to implement student inclusivity measures, establish public-private partnerships to support research, and optimize the school’s use of grants from NSF and other funding organizations.

#2: Representatives from initiatives in other STEM fields with innovative program models aimed at improving access to higher education for marginalized communities

Dr. Theodore Hodapp is the Director of Project Development and Senior Advisor to Education and Diversity for the American Physical Society (APS) in College Park, Maryland. Dr. Hodapp led the development of the APS Bridge Program, which is erasing the achievement gap for underrepresented minority students at the PhD level in physics. He now serves as Project Director of the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN). Dr. Hodapp is Principal Investigator on several grants that support the APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics, which bring together nearly every undergraduate woman studying physics in the United States. Prior to working at the APS, Dr. Hodapp was a professor and chair of the Hamline University Physics Department in St. Paul, Minnesota and a Program Director at the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the AAAS.

Dr. Lloyd Munjanja, Associate Director of Graduate Diversity and Program Climate, leads the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with the recruitment, retention, and advancement of graduate students, with a specific focus on traditionally underrepresented groups in chemistry. He also serves on multiple department committees, including the Diversity Committee and the Climate Committee, and leads the Annual Women in Chemistry Retreat planning committee. He also develops, implements, and runs lecture series, workshops, including the Stoesser Lecture, and instructs two professional development courses for first and third-year graduate students. He also serves as an advocate for faculty, postdocs, and graduate students on climate and equity-related issues. Also, he consults with the broader community on inclusive excellence challenges and opportunities in STEM.

Dr. Munjanja received a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Rochester, NY. While at the University of Rochester, he developed a strong interest in advocating and supporting students of color’s professional development and advancement. His interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the chemical sciences took him to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF) based out of Emory University, as Director of Education, Outreach, and Diversity.

Dr. Corey Welch is the Director of the STEM Scholars Program at Iowa State University. He is a Biologist by training, but after a postdoc, he transitioned to full time student development as a program coordinator of the Biology Scholars Program at UC Berkeley, an innovative nationally recognized program for minority and low income students. In 2016, he established the STEM Scholars, modeled after this program. Corey uses the latest STEM Education research and his own experience as a first generation, low income, Northern Cheyenne Tribal member to train the next generation of underrepresented scientists. He frequently gives talks around the country on diversifying the fields of ecology/evolution, he spoke in Washington DC at the March For Science, and is wrapping up his last years serving on the National Board of Directors of SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicano/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science). He co-advises the ISU SACNAS Chapter. As possibly the first & only N. Cheyenne to earn a Biology PhD, he gives back to his tribal community through an annual N. Cheyenne scholarship.

Panel #3: Faculty who work with undergraduate math students from minoritized groups, especially at HBCUs, HSIs, and community colleges

Dr. Jessica De Silva has been at California State University, Stanislaus since 2018 where she is currently an Assistant Professor of Mathematics. She earned her BS from CSU Stanislaus, and her MS and PhD from the University of Nebraska. Dr. De Silva’s research background is in combinatorics in graph theory, and her current interests lie in applications of discrete mathematics in data science and image processing. CSU Stanislaus is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, with the student population being 55% Hispanic/LatinX, 62% Pell eligible, and 74% first-generation. In serving this diverse population, Dr. De Silva has the opportunity to mentor research students through various campus programs such as CSU-LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation). She serves on the conference committee of the Pacific Math Alliance, a regional branch of the National Math Alliance. Through this leadership, Dr. De Silva is able to mentor and create opportunities for mathematics students in the larger Pacific region.

Dr. Belin Tsinnajinnie (he/him/his) is Diné and Filipinx from Na’ Neelzhiin, New Mexico. Belin received his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Arizona with a doctoral thesis focused on notions of mathematical identity in the context of Indigenous and Latinx students. He is now a Full-time Faculty of Mathematics at Santa Fe Community College. Belin is interested in identifying and articulating issues pertaining social justice and equity in mathematics education through Indigenous perspectives.

Joycelyn Wilson has been at Spelman College since 2007 and is currently a senior instructor in the Department of Mathematics. Before coming to Spelman, she was an instructor at Howard University and American University, both in Washington, DC. While at Spelman, she worked with several federally funded grants, including the Program Director of the Spelman/Salem STEM (S3) Mentoring Program and the Women in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (WiSTEM) Program.  Most recently, she served as Co-PI and Program Director for the Mathematics Research and Mentoring Program (Math RaMP), an NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences funded program. The overall goal of Math RaMP is to increase the number of African American women who pursue advanced degrees or careers in the mathematical sciences with an enhanced understanding of the broader career options available in pure and applied mathematics, as well as statistics and mathematics education. She loves that she is able to impact women of color in various ways at Spelman College and beyond, in particular in the field of mathematics. In her spare time, she enjoys working math logic puzzles, watching baseball and being adventurous. 

Panel #4: Leaders of entryway and mentoring programs that support undergraduates from underrepresented groups as they choose and make the transition into graduate programs

Dr. Rebecca Garcia is a Professor of Mathematics at Sam Houston State University and a Co-Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Undergraduate Program. A native Chamorro, born and raised in Guam, Dr. Garcia earned her bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, her masters degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and her doctoral degree from New Mexico State University. Her research interests are at the intersection of computational and commutative algebra and combinatorics. Her record of service is a reflection of her love for her community and her commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion: from running math circles and preparatory programs for local middle school students to directing national undergraduate research programs that aim to increase the number of underrepresented students attaining advanced degrees in the mathematical sciences. 

Dr. Candice Price  is a mathematician and an assistant professor at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Born and raised in California, Candice has a bachelor’s degree (2003) in mathematics from California State University, Chico, and a master’s degree (2007)  in mathematics from San Francisco State University. She earned her doctoral degree (2012) in mathematics from the University of Iowa under the advisement of Isabel Darcy. Her area of mathematical research is in the application of mathematics to biology primarily in DNA topology, knot theory applied to the structure of DNA. She is an advocate for greater representation of women and people of color in the STEM fields and is a founder of the Underrepresented Students in Topology and Algebra Research Symposium (USTARS) and the website Mathematically Gifted and Black.

Panel #5: Current and recent graduate students who have worked to create and advocate for space and support within their departments for graduate students

Sarah Salmon is a doctoral candidate at University of Colorado Boulder and her research is in algebraic combinatorics. She spent several years on her department’s Diversity Committee hosting a variety of events designed to build community and social engagement among graduate students and has done work as an individual toward the same goals. Events that she has led and/or organized include CHATs on big and small social justice topics, team building through a low ropes course, Bystander training, and Safe Zone training. She is also an active member of a labor union which provides additional structure for building a conscious community.

Dr. Simone Sisneros-Thiry earned her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August 2020. As a graduate student, she was a co-organizer of the math department’s Teaching and Diversity seminar, an officer in the graduate AWM chapter, and was involved in a variety of formal and informal mentoring relationships. She is committed to the forever work of listening, growth, and action towards equity and justice, within and outside the mathematics community. She brings this focus to her professional interests, which include lower-division undergraduate course development, graduate teaching assistant training, higher education in prison, and combinatorial number theory. She is an assistant professor of mathematics at California State University, East Bay. 

Dr. Dwight Anderson Williams II is a postdoc research associate at Iowa State University. His research interests are in (super)algebraic structures and their physical applications, as well as challenging and improving graduate math programs. He completed his PhD at The University of Texas at Arlington in the areas of Lie superalgebras and representation theory. During graduate school he was the founding president of his department’s AMS Graduate Chapter.

Panel #6: Current and former graduate program leaders from programs that have been recognized for their diversity efforts

Dr. Marcia Gumpertz is professor of Statistics at North Carolina State University. She specializes in applied statistics, statistical consulting and design of experiments. She is coauthor of the textbook Planning, Construction and Statistical Analysis of Comparative Experiments. Dr. Gumpertz is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and is a recipient of the Statistics Department’s Cavell Brownie Award for outstanding mentoring and NC State’s Outstanding Academic Advising Administrator Award.  From 2006 to 2017 she served as Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity at NC State. From 2008-2012 she served as PI for NC State’s NSF-funded ADVANCE Developing Diverse Departments project. This project developed women, underrepresented minority faculty and department heads as leaders and change agents promoting diversity and inclusion throughout the university. From 2007 to 2017 Dr. Gumpertz managed NC State’s Building Future Faculty Program, a 3-day professional development workshop for diverse doctoral students and postdocs seriously considering an academic career. The objective is to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups entering the faculty and to better prepare them for academic careers. About 320 graduate students and postdocs from all over the US participated in the Building Future Faculty program from 2007-2017, and 60 to 70% of them have gone on to academic careers..  Currently Dr Gumpertz is PI of an NSF-funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) project, an alliance of North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The North Carolina AGEP Alliance promotes change in STEM doctoral programs to further the success of underrepresented minority students. Twenty-eight STEM departments at the three Alliance institutions have committed to identifying issues affecting diverse students in their doctoral programs and developing and adopting formal plans to enhance URM doctoral student completion and preparation for faculty careers.

Dr. Susan Hermiller is a Willa Cather Professor of Mathematics at the University of Nebraska. In her research she studies connections between computational, geometric, and combinatorial properties of infinite discrete groups. She has served as the director of the graduate program in mathematics at UNL since 2011, which is known for its consistently high percentage of women doctoral recipients. Dr. Hermiller’s work on UNL’s team implementing an NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant focused on dissemination of best practices for recruitment, evaluation, and retention of faculty and students from under-represented groups. Her work to improve the representation of women in mathematics nationwide includes co-organizing the initial Nebraska Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics and serving on the AMS-ASA-AWM-IMS-MAA-NCTM-SIAM Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Sciences.

Dr. Rick Laugesen earned his PhD from Washington University in St. Louis in 1993 in complex analysis. That field was not exactly a growth area, and so he started learning partial differential equations by teaching and writing papers in the area during his postdoctoral positions. To this day, PDEs are his main topic of research. Around the middle of his career, though, he felt it was time to make an impact beyond research and classroom teaching (both of which he enjoys very much, and continues to do). So he took the graduate director’s job in his department (2012-2017), responsible for about 150 PhD students and 50 Master’s students. Two challenges demanded immediate attention: the need for career options in industry and government for graduates, and the obvious lack of diversity among our US student population. He didn’t know how to solve either problem, but figured it was better to try and fail than not try at all. The careers effort led to a handbook for students and a new internship network. The diversity effort opened his eyes to the historic and current day obstacles faced by students of color, and led his department to re-think how they recruit, admit, assess and support graduate students in our program. In this effort they benefited from the ground-breaking research of Julie Posselt, and the resources provided by organizations including SACNAS, MSRI-UP, the Sloan Foundation and the Math Alliance.

Panel #7: Leaders of professional networks and organizations dedicated to advancing diversity in the mathematical sciences

Dr. Emily Butler is a principal statistician at GSK who supports cell gene therapy oncology assets. Her experience is primarily with early phase compounds and is a member of a cross industry estimands working group. Aside from her statistical work, she is very involved in inclusion and diversity initiatives at GSK, including leading departmental initiatives. She is heavily involved in recruitment, training sessions for non-statisticians, and the department’s engagement team. As a statistician, her true passion is around engaging with her clinical colleagues to ensure the statistical validity of all trial designs, interpretations and publications. She is the Co-Vice Chair of the American Statistical Association’s Committee of Minorities in Statistics and is a Member-at-Large of the Biopharmaceutical Section Executive Committee.  Emily graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2016 with a PhD in biostatistics and Carnegie Mellon University in 2011 with a bachelors in statistics.

Dr. Carla Cotwright-Williams serves as a Senior Data Scientist with the Department of Defense (DoD).  Prior to working with the DoD, she began her public service in academia – serving over 10 years in research and teaching. She has conducted research with both NASA and the U.S. Navy. In 2012, she was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) /American Mathematical Society (AMS) Congressional Fellowship. During her time on Capitol Hill, she worked as a staffer on the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. In addition to covering a number of policy areas, she worked on the congressional hearing examining emergency preparedness surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings.

Dr. Cotwright-Williams has served as a Hardy-Apfel Information Technology (IT) Fellow at the U.S. Social Security Administration in Baltimore, MD. As an IT Fellow, she worked on a variety of high-profile IT projects including creating fraud analytics in the Office of Anti-Fraud Programs and the launch of SSA’s cloud infrastructure (Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW)) whose primary goal is to improve accessibility to a critical asset, its data. 

Dr. Cotwright-Williams is the Outside Academia member of the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) Board of Directors. She is also a member-at-large and incoming chair of Policy and Advocacy for the Executive Committee of the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM). Dr. Cotwright-Williams has been an invited speaker and panelist across the nation speaking to diverse audiences about her research, career transitions, and mentoring. Dr. Cotwright-Williams holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics.

Dr. David Goldberg was born in Boston, and grew up in several different locations in the U.S. as well as spending two years abroad. He graduated from public high school, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, as well as its alternative sub-school, the Cambridge Pilot School. He attended Reed College in Portland, OR, and after taking some time off and working in an automotive brake factory in Boston, received a B.A. in Mathematics. After spending two years as a pension actuarial administrator, he decided to pursue a graduate degree. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1991 under the direction of Rebecca Herb. He joined the faculty of Purdue in 1991 as a postdoctoral appointee, continued at Purdue as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, and was appointed as a tenure track Assistant Professor in 1994. He was awarded an NSF CAREER Grant in 1995. Dr. Goldberg’s research concerns representations of p-adic groups, and connections with algebraic number theory. He was the Graduate Chair in the Purdue Mathematics Department from January 2013 through June 2019, and for many years before that has been part of a group of faculty within the department working to address issues of underrepresentation. He was a contributing author to four successful Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grants, serving as co-Project Director on one and Project Director on another. Through some coincidence with his research interests, he became familiar with the National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical Science, more commonly known as the Math Alliance in 2007, and he joined as a mentor in 2009. In 2014, he guided the creation of a Math Alliance Graduate Program Group in the Purdue Mathematics Department. He became the Executive Director of the Math Alliance in 2016, as it relocated its administrative home to Purdue. Under his leadership, the Alliance has grown in size and scope, and received the 2017 Programs that Make a Difference Award from the American Mathematical Society.

Working groups participants

Arizona State UniversityRhonda Olson
Boston College Dawei Chen
California State University, FresnoOscar Vega
Colorado School of MinesKarin Leiderman
DePaul UniversityYevgenia Kashina
Duke UniversityColleen Robles
Kansas State UniversitySarah Reznikoff
Northwestern UniversityAntonio Auffinger
Oregon State UniversityMina Ossiander
Texas State UniversityHiro Lee Tanaka
Texas State University Shuying Sun
Tufts UniversityRobert Lemke Oliver
Tulane UniversityScott McKinley
University at Buffalo, SUNYYiqiang Li
University of Central FloridaQiyu Sun
University of Colorado – BoulderAgnes Beaudry
University of DelawareChad Giusti
University of  HawaiiRuth Haas
University of KentuckyBenjamin Braun
University of MichiganHanna Bennett
University of MontanaKelly McKinnie
University of Nebraska – LincolnChristine Kelley
University of OklahomaRoi Docampo
University of South AlabamaDrew Lewis
University of TennesseeAnne Ho
University of VermontPuck Rombach
University of WashingtonBianca Viray
University of Wisconsin – MadisonBetsy Stovall
University of Texas – AustinTim Perutz
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityMarco Aldi
West Virginia UniversityJessica Deshler
Youngstown State UniversityThomas Wakefield

Conference participants

CarolynAbbottColumbia University in the City of New York
AdnanAbdulwahidUnaffiliated
HenryAdamsColorado State University
NicolasAddingtonUniversity of Oregon
NachiketaAdhikariUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
JamesAdlerTufts University
SantanaAftonGeorgia Institute of Technology
SilasAlbenUniversity of Michigan
TomAlbertsThe University of Utah
MarcoAldiVirginia Commonwealth University
AmaraAlexanderVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
JarodAlperUniversity of Washington
JamesAlvarezThe University of Texas at Arlington
MatthewAndoUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jose RomanAranda CuevasUniversity of Iowa
AndreaArauza RiveraCalifornia State University, East Bay
FedericoArdilaSan Francisco State University
CeciliaAriasRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
MauroArtigianiUniversidad del Rosario
CalebAshleyBoston College
JayadevAthreyaUniversity of Washington
PaulAtzbergerUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
AsherAuelDartmouth College
AntonioAuffingerNorthwestern University
SyvilliaAverettCollege of Coastal Georgia
RodrigoBañuelosPurdue University
MichaelBarrusUniversity of Rhode Island
SaiBavisettyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
JonathanBeardsleyUniversity of Nevada, Reno
AgnesBeaudryUniversity of Colorado Boulder
LouisBeaugrisKean University
PatriciaBeaulieuUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette
HannaBennettUniversity of Michigan
BrianBibbinsSouthern University at New Orleans
DavidBindelCornell University
TerrenceBlackmanMedgar Evers College
AlexiBlock GormanUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BenBlum-SmithThe New School
AlexBlumenthalGeorgia Institute of Technology
IvanBoldovskiiMSU
DavidBorthwickEmory University
BenjaminBraunUniversity of Kentucky
EmiBrawleyUniversity of California, Davis
JamesBrodaBowdoin College
KathieBrohaughUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
MadelineBrownUniversity of Washington
JulietteBruceUniversity of California, Berkeley
NealBushawVirginia Commonwealth University
RyanBushlingUniversity of Washington
NicholasCahillUnaffiliated
AaronCalderonYale University
AnnalisaCaliniCollege of Charleston
EmileeCardinUniversity of Michigan
AlexandriaCervantesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
JoseCespedesUnaffiliated
SamaraChamounMichigan State University
YassinChandranThe Graduate Center, CUNY
RuthCharneyBrandeis University
AbhayChaudharyMiami University
DaweiChenBoston College
YuguoChenUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
YuanChenMichigan State University
ArtemChernikovUniversity of California, Los Angeles
GregoryCiulloNorth Central College
MartaCivilThe University of Arizona
TafariClarke-JamesUniversity of Washington
JuliaCodasIME – USP
SallyCollinsGeorgia Institute of Technology
KeishaCookTulane University
AlissaCransLoyola Marymount University
ChristopherCreightonColorado State University-Pueblo
ElenaCrosleyUniversity of Michigan
ElizabethCrowUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
JonathanCutlerMontclair State University
IsabelDarcyUniversity of Iowa
JessicaDe SilvaCalifornia State University, Stanislaus
MonicaDelgadoThe Ohio State University
ShaozhongDengUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
JessicaDeshlerWest Virginia University
LeeDeVilleUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TokaDiaganaThe University of Alabama in Huntsville
ZammyDiazColumbia University in the City of New York
BrianDiazUniversal Background Screening
BenjaminDickmanThe Hewitt School
EvgeniDimitrovColumbia University in the City of New York
MinhDoanLuxembourg University
RoiDocampoUniversity of Oklahoma
HakanDogaUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New York
GeorgeDragomirColumbia University in the City of New York
ChristopherDuPreGeorgia Institute of Technology
RanthonyEdmondsThe Ohio State University
KariEiflerTexas A&M University
JordanEllenbergUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
MaxEngelsteinUniversity of Minnesota -Twin Cities
MalenaEspanolArizona State University
JohnEtnyreGeorgia Institute of Technology
SamEvensUniversity of Notre Dame
SamanthaFairchildUniversity of Washington
TaylorFerebeeCornell University
ElizabethFieldThe University of Utah
MarkFincherUniversity of Pittsburgh
CynthiaFloresCalifornia State University Channel Islands
MichelleFosterAlabama State University
EdgarFullerFlorida International University
PadiFusterTulane University
ZeinabGadCairo University
PatricioGallardo CandelaUniversity of California, Riverside
M. CristinaGarciaUniversity of Maryland
RebeccaGarciaSam Houston State University
StephanieGastonUniversity of California, Davis
TeenaGerhardtMichigan State University
ChristinaGiannitsiGeorgia Institute of Technology
CourtneyGibbonsHamilton College
ChristineGilchristCarnegie Mellon University
ChadGiustiUniversity of Delaware
DarrenGlosemeyerUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DavidGoldbergPurdue University
OscarGonzalezUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DianaGonzalezArizona State University
MarciaGroszekDartmouth College
HelenGrundmanBryn Mawr College
FernandoGuevara VasquezThe University of Utah
MarciaGumpertzNorth Carolina State University
JingGuoCalifornia State University, Chico
RuthHaasUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa
MilenaHadzi-TosevMcMaster University
ThomasHainesUniversity of Maryland
PiotrHajlaszUniversity of Pittsburgh
SydneyHanUniversity of Maryland
JohannaHardinPomona College
PamelaHarrisWilliams College
MichaelHarrisColumbia University in the City of New York
StaceyHarrisSaint Louis University
PiperHarronUniversity of Toronto
ShellyHarveyWilliam Marsh Rice University
ShandyHaukSan Francisco State University
MingxuanHeGrinnell College
EmilyHeathUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BarbaraHeathEast Main Evaluation & Consulting, LLC
AloysiusHelminckUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa
PaigeHelmsUniversity of Washington
SusanHermillerUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
DanielHernandezUniversity of Kansas
EllaHiesmayrUniversity of California, Berkeley
RaeganHigginsTexas Tech University
AnneHoThe University of Tennessee, Knoxville
ChristelHoheneggerThe University of Utah
EverettHoweUnaffiliated
EricHsuSan Francisco State University
MengweiHuYale University
JacquelineHughes-OliverNorth Carolina State University
AlanaHuszarUniversity of Michigan
MichaelHutchingsUniversity of California, Berkeley
PeterHuxfordUniversity of Chicago
AnthonyIarrobinoNortheastern University
BoazIlanUniversity of California, Merced
SafiqulIslamSt. Theresa International College
MarkIwenMichigan State University
ChristopherJankowskiGeorgia Institute of Technology
ValeriJean-PierreMichigan State University
DavidJekelUniversity of California, San Diego
ChristopherJettUniversity of West Georgia
RanJiUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CarterJohnsonThe University of Utah
MattiasJonssonUniversity of Michigan
AshleeKalauliUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
YashikaKapoorJesus and Mary College, Delhi University
SelviKaraUniversity of South Alabama
YevgeniaKashinaDePaul University
MatthiasKawskiArizona State University
KiranKedlayaUniversity of California, San Diego
AnnalieseKeiserUniversity of Michigan
ChristineKelleyUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
LeaKenigsbergColumbia University in the City of New York
NinaKerkebaneUniversity of Chicago
ThomasKerlerThe Ohio State University
LilyKhadjaviLoyola Marymount University
TaufiquarKhanUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
Md SalmanKhanUniversity of Hyderabad
MaryamKhaqanEmory University
DonaldKingNortheastern University
SandraKinganBrooklyn College
RyanKinserUniversity of Iowa
RachelKirschIowa State University
InbarKlangColumbia University
KatieKolossaArizona State University
MarianneKortenKansas State University
SandorKovacsUniversity of Washington
MarkKozekWhittier College
SiddhiKrishnaGeorgia Institute of Technology
FaakorKudjoeKwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
DaveKungSt. Mary’s College of Maryland
CagatayKutluhanUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New York
PhilKutzkoUniversity of Iowa
MiriamKuzbaryGeorgia Institute of Technology
JoshLaisonWillamette University
JustinLanierUniversity of Chicago
DannyLaraCentral Washington University
RichardLaugesenUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
HeatherLeeUniversity of Washington
CatherineLeeUniversity of California, Berkeley
ShernitaLeeVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
KarinLeidermanColorado School of Mines
LeahLeinerTemple University
RobertLemke OliverTufts University
AntonioLerarioSISSA
AdamLevineDuke University
JakeLevinsonSimon Fraser University
RachelLevyAMS
DrewLewisUniversity of South Alabama
JimLewisUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
TongtongLiUniversity of Pittsburgh
YiqiangLiUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New York
TyeLidmanNorth Carolina State University
MaxLieblichUniversity of Washington
DanielLittUniversity of Georgia
MarissaLovingGeorgia Institute of Technology
AlvaroLozano-RobledoUniversity of Connecticut
WenbinLuNorth Carolina State University
AllysaLumleyUniversité de Montréal
KathrynLundCharles University
KyleMaddoxUniversity of Kansas
SaraMaloniUniversity of Virginia
DavidManderscheidThe University of Tennessee, Knoxville
MichelleManesNational Science Foundation
JohannaMangahasUniversity at Buffalo, SUNY
DavidMarcilColumbia University in the City of New York
TomMarleyUniversity of Nebraska – Lincoln
AlisonMarrSouthwestern University
VincentMartinezHunter College, CUNY
SofíaMartínezPurdue University
KonstantinMatetskiColumbia University in the City of New York
UditMavinkurveWestern University
MaeveMcCarthyMurray State University
TimMcEldowneyWest Virginia University
ScottMcKinleyTulane University
KellyMcKinnieThe University of Montana
JenniferMcNeillyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
HarleyMeadeColorado State University
KatherineMerklUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
AnnieMeyersUnaffiliated
AllisonMillerWilliam Marsh Rice University
FabioMilnerArizona State University
KalinaMinchevaTulane University
YairMinskyYale University
ClaireMirochaUniversity of California, Berkeley
MurphyKateMonteeCarleton College
AdrianaMorales MirandaUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
KatrinaMorganNorthwestern University
TravisMorrisonVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
MichaelMuellerUniversity of Michigan
SamMundyColumbia University in the City of New York
LloydMunjanjaUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
OvidiuMunteanuUniversity of Connecticut
TakumiMurayamaPrinceton University
JasonMurphyMissouri University of Science and Technology
GnanasekarMuruganRathinam College of Arts and Science
KeatonNaffColumbia University in the City of New York
AnastasiaNathansonSan Francisco State University
BhaminiNayarMorgan State University
ThomasNgTechnion
SeppoNiemi-ColvinDuke University
AsamoahNkwantaMorgan State University
SandyNormanThe University of Texas at San Antonio
KateO’ConnorWilliam Marsh Rice University
TobyO’NeilThe Open University
JessicaOehrleinColumbia University in the City of New York
IvánOjeda-RuizTexas State University
PhyllisOkwanSouthern University and A&M College
RasakiOlanrewajuPAUSTI, Kenya
AndreOliveiraWesleyan University
RhondaOlsonArizona State University
FlorenciaOroszUniversity of Colorado Boulder
AmreiOswaldUniversity of Iowa
JohnPalmieriUniversity of Washington
AdditiPandeyUniversity of Delhi
JoshuaPankauUniversity of Iowa
AshParkerThe University of Arizona
PriyamPatelThe University of Utah
KatePearceNorth Carolina State University
SarahPercivalPurdue University
JonPhillipsUniversity of California, Berkeley
LindsayPiechnikBarnard College
JorgePineiroBronx Community College
JuanitaPinzón-CaicedoUniversity of Notre Dame
JuliaPlavnikIndiana University Bloomington
DennisPorchMassachusetts Institute of Technology
AnupPoudelUniversity of Iowa
Amy BethPragerHale Health
EdwardPriceGrinnell College
KasraRafiUniversity of Toronto
RichardRebarberUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
KyleRhoadsgmmb
StefanRichterThe University of Tennessee, Knoxville
EmilyRiehlJohns Hopkins University
VanessaRivera QuiñonesSagrado Global
ColleenRoblesDuke University
OgonnayaRomanusAuburn University
PuckRombachUniversity of Vermont
DavidRosenthalSt. John’s University
JuliusRossUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
DustinRossSan Francisco State University
JamesRossmanithIowa State University
FredRoushAlabama State University
AgnivaRoyGeorgia Institute of Technology
JonathanRubinUniversity of Pittsburgh
EfrenRuizUniversity of Hawaii at Hilo
JosephRusinkoHobart and William Smith Colleges
JacobRussellWilliam Marsh Rice University
AqeebSabreeXavier University
JessicaSadlerUniversity of Maryland
NanditaSahajpalEarlham College
AnthonySanchezUniversity of Washington
BjornSandstedeBrown University
RebeccaSantorellaBrown University
DavidSavittJohns Hopkins University
NoelleSawyerSouthwestern University
ThomasScanlonUniversity of California, Berkeley
AlexandriaSchmidMassachusetts Institute of Technology
LynnSchreyerWashington State University
AkashSenguptaColumbia University in the City of New York
AllecharSerrano LopezUniversity of Utah
XiaofengShaoUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ThomasSharlandUniversity of Rhode Island
SaramoiraShieldsCornell University
BrookeShipleyUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
SanalShivaprasadUniversity of Michigan
Chi-WangShuBrown University
DouglasSimpsonUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FeliciaSimpsonWinston-Salem State University
JaydeepSinghPrinceton University
SimoneSisneros-ThiryCalifornia State University, East Bay
RachelSkipperThe Ohio State University
DejanSlepcevCarnegie Mellon University
MarianaSmit Vega GarciaWestern Washington University
KarenSmithUniversity of Michigan
HemaSrinivasanUniversity of Missouri
GigliolaStaffilaniMassachusetts Institute of Technology
RachelStahlBridgewater State University
PlamenStefanovPurdue University
BetsyStovallUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
MatthiasStrauchIndiana University Bloomington
DanielStudenmundBinghamton University, State University of New York
JianzhongSuThe University of Texas at Arlington
KatherineSulekTexas A&M University
JohnSullivanTU Berlin
VanessaSunHunter College, CUNY
ShuyingSunTexas State University
MarielSupinaUniversity of California, Berkeley
JanaTalleyJackson State University
SarahTammenMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Hiro LeeTanakaTexas State University
MojdehTarighatUniversity of Virginia
PrasadTetaliGeorgia Institute of Technology
AshleyTharpNorth Carolina State University
BeccaThomasesUniversity of California, Davis
DylanThurstonIndiana University Bloomington
JinhyungToUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TatianaToroUniversity of Washington
BelinTsinnajinnieSanta Fe College
HannahTurnerThe University of Texas at Austin
FabriceUlysseUniversity of Notre Dame
WilfredoUrbina RomeroRoosevelt University
JamesUtzCornell University
CaglarUyanikYale University
KathrynVan EttenUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
IlaVarmaUniversity of Toronto
IlaVarmaUniversity of Toronto
AghalayaVatsalaUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette
OscarVegaCalifornia State University, Fresno
AdrianaVega-MolinoUniversity of Connecticut
SaraVenkateshStanford University
JuanVilleta-GarciaEmory University
ChristelleVincentUniversity of Vermont
AndresVindas MelendezUniversity of Kentucky
BiancaVirayUniversity of Washington
KatieWaddleUniversity of Michigan
ThomasWakefieldYoungstown State University
JuliaWalkConcordia College
EliseWalkerTexas A&M University
GuWangWorcester Polytechnic Institute
YuanWangFlorida Atlantic University
NancyWangUniversity of Michigan
HaoyiWangUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CarlWang-EricksonUniversity of Pittsburgh
EdwardWaymireOregon State University
ShmuelWeinbergerUniversity of Chicago
BrandisWhitfieldTemple University
BrandyWiegersCentral Washington University
RandyWilliamsIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
SavannahWilliamsBryn Mawr College
MarquiaWilliamsUniversity at Albany, State University of New York
DwightWilliams IIIowa State University
JenniferWilsonUniversity of Michigan
JoycelynWilsonSpelman College
ElyséeWilson-EgolfUC Davis
ArisWingerGeorgia Gwinnett College
EmilyWittUniversity of Kansas
Tian AnWongUniversity of Michigan-Dearborn
WilliamWordenWilliam Marsh Rice University
NancyWrinkleNortheastern Illinois University
WilliamWylieSyracuse University
MadelyneXiaoThe New Yorker
XiaohuanXueUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro
XueruiYangUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
SarahYeakelUniversity of California, Riverside
FarrahYheeUniversity of Michigan
JosephineYuGeorgia Institute of Technology
SergioZamora BarreraPenn State University
EricZaslowUniversity of Chicago
NidaZehraJamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi
YunusZeytuncuUniversity of Michigan-Dearborn
JenniferZhuTexas A&M University
JingyiZhuThe University of Utah
ShijieZhuUniversity of Iowa
EmilyZhuUniversity of California, San Diego
SandraZuniga RuizUniversity of California, Berkeley
AlexZupanUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln

Panel descriptions:

  1. Representatives from public and private funding organizations
  2. Representatives from initiatives in other STEM fields with innovative program models aimed at improving access to higher education for marginalized communities
  3. Faculty who work with undergraduate math students from minoritized groups, especially at HBCUs, HSIs, and community colleges
  4. Leaders of entryway and mentoring programs that support undergraduates from underrepresented groups as they choose and make the transition into graduate programs
  5. Current and recent graduate students who have worked to create and advocate for space and support within their departments for graduate students
  6. Current and former graduate program leaders from programs that have been recognized for their diversity efforts
  7. Leaders of professional networks and organizations dedicated to advancing diversity in the mathematical sciences

Friday, November 20

Zoom rooms will be open at least 15 minutes before sessions begin. All times EST.

Main RoomSatellite Room
2:00Welcome and opening remarksKevin Corlette
Director, IMSI
Abbe Herzig
Director of Education, AMS
2:10Plenary – Black, Brown, Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles InnovationMy research reveals that most of the stress STEMers of color report is associated with factors other than academic demands. Stereotyping colors their daily interactions with others, becoming cognitively intrusive and creating constant tension in their academic lives. Empowering URM STEMers requires more than reciting basic principles and the virtues of mentoring and gets down to the nitty gritty. I argue for the creation of equitable and inclusive environments in which URM students and faculty feel welcome, can be open about who they are, and can thrive in their chosen disciplines. I expose the need for support designed for URM students in STEM, support that ensures more than mere survival, support that leads to flourishing and feeling like valued members of their disciplines. Solutions do not involve fixing the URM student; rather, I put the burden for change on STEM departments and their racialized cultures. (Video)Ebony McGee
3:00Break & networking
4:00Panel 1 – Funding organizationsLorelle Espinosa, Karen Marrongelle, Michelle Manes (moderator)Panel 2 – Innovative STEM initiativesTheodore Hodapp, Lloyd Munjanja, Corey Welch, Justin Lanier (moderator)

Saturday, November 21

Main RoomSatellite Room
2:00Panel 3 – Minority Serving Institutions (and conference photo)Jessica De Silva, Belin Tsinnajinnie, Joycelyn Wilson, Jayadev Athreya (moderator) Panel 4 – Mentoring and bridge programs (and conference photo)Rebecca Garcia, Candice Price, Marissa Loving (moderator)
3:00Break & networking
4:00Reading groupsReading groups

Working groups of graduate program leaders will meet sometime during the conference, including potentially in the 4:00 time slot on the Saturday.

Sunday, November 22

Main RoomSatellite Room
2:00Panel 5 – Student-led initiativesSarah Salmon, Simone Sisneros-Thiry, Dwight Anderson Williams II, Matthew Ando (moderator)Workshop for graduate program leaders – Fundamentals: Equity in Graduate AdmissionsThis session presents data and research about the role of typical admissions criteria and practices in maintaining racial/ethnic inequalities in graduate education. Suitable for a wide variety of audiences, practical strategies for rethinking typical admissions criteria and processes are introduced, with a focus on equity-based holistic review and embedding attention to equity throughout the admissions and recruitment process. All aspects of this session are rooted in current research. Participants will learn how common admissions mindsets & practices tend to inhibit access for underrepresented groups, and they will be introduced to strategies to improve diversity & equity through holistic review processes. Julie Posselt and Casey Miller
3:00Break & networking
4:00Plenary – Graduate Education in Mathematics: How has it served the minority community?

What is the purpose of graduate education in mathematics in this country? Is it to create a cadre of top- notch research mathematicians? Should graduate education be viewed as serving the needs of the nation, equipping its citizens to use their mathematical training to address the serious problems that confront society? My view of graduate education in mathematics is the former, an industry heavily invested in its own research programs, almost blind to the empowerment of our domestic students. This situation has gone on for decades, much to the detriment of the minority populations in this country. The US has been producing doctoral students for more than 70 years, yet there is a dearth of minority faculty in our top departments.

We are fortunate as mathematical scientists that our subject is now an invaluable tool in addressing so many different scientific problems. As we look towards the future, a commitment to provide the mathematical skills to our citizens should be uppermost in our minds.

(Video)
William Y. Vélez

Monday, November 23

Main RoomSatellite Room
2:00Plenary – EDGE: A Thriving Community of Women MathematiciansMathematics is the gateway to all STEM (science, engineering, technology, and mathematics) subjects. Yet, women are underrepresented in this vital field. There is a litany of reasons for this absence, such as women often being tokenized and their brilliance and accomplishments not being credited to their abilities and hard work. Prevalent as this absence is, fortunately, for over twenty years, the EDGE Program has provided a mathematics ecosystem in which a widely diverse group of women has thrived both academically and personally. We will discuss the philosophy on which the EDGE Program is built, as well as outcomes and perspectives on which program features foster success in women, and in particular, women of color. We consider some of the professional and personal benefits that participants seem to derive from a community of this kind and the value EDGE participants add to the mathematics community.(Video)Raegan Higgins
3:00Break & networking
4:00Panel 6 – Distinguished graduate programsMarcia Gumpertz, Susan Hermiller, Rick Laugesen, Abbe Herzig (moderator) Panel 7 – Professional networks and organizations Emily Butler, Carla Cotwright-Williams, David Goldberg, Pamela E. Harris (moderator)