Community

Please see our department’s Collegiality Statement page.

Although the Department of Mathematics and Statistics is committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment for all members of our community (see our Collegiality Statement, above), we understand that unfortunately, situations of concern may arise. If you feel you have experienced or witnessed inappropriate behavior, we urge you to bring it to our attention through one of the following channels:

• The Departmental Ombuds, Margaret Beck and Jared Weinstein. The role of these faculty members is to provide a first point of contact that is distinct from the reporter’s advisor, course instructor, etc, and thus minimize any impact on the reporter’s academic and professional record.
• The Boston University College of Arts and Sciences Community Values and Response Team.
• The Boston University sexual misconduct reporting procedures.
• The Boston University Equal Opportunity Office.

We note that, although confidentiality will be respected to the extent possible, it cannot always be guaranteed via the above channels, for example in the case of issues related to Title IX or of threats of violence. Anyone wishing to have a confidential discussion regarding sexual assault or interpersonal trauma can contact BU’s Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center. Confidential discussions regarding any issues related to life, work, or study at Boston University can be conducted via the BU Office of the Ombuds. In addition, anonymous and confidential reporting can be made via Ethics Point.

• Mathematics and Statistics Peer Mentoring: The Mathematics and Statistics Undergraduate Peer Mentor Program pairs first-year majors with sophomores, juniors, or seniors with shared academic and extracurricular interests.  Mentees meet with their mentors at least once a semester to check in and to foster a greater sense of community in the department. For more information, or to become a mentee or mentor, please contact our Undergraduate Program Administrator.
  
• Directed Reading Program (DRP): The BU DRP is a program that pairs undergraduates with graduate student mentors to work together on an independent reading project in mathematics, applied mathematics, or statistics. The goal is to engage undergraduates who are curious and motivated to learn beyond what they may find in their coursework, in a way where their interests drive their learning experience. The DRP serves as a bridge between undergraduate and graduate students in our department and helps to foster a sense of community among all of our students.

There are several student-run groups that organize a variety of events, such as professional development and social events.

There are several student-run groups that organize a variety of events, such as professional development and social events.

Gender Minorities in Mathematics & Statistics (GeMS) is an informal group within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics that meets a couple times each semester for things like tea and lunch, with the goal being to foster connections and to create a supportive work environment. They welcome the participation of all grad students, postdocs, and faculty in the department who identify as female, trans, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming. For more information or to be added to the group’s email list please contact Jennifer Balakrishnan or Margaret Beck.

• BU Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground: The center advances Dr. Thurman’s philosophy of self-exploration and community building through meaningful and creative shared experiences.
• BU Newbury Center: Created to foster the success of first-generation students at BU, the center’s goal is to become a highly visible, transformative unit of BU, offering programming and services designed to ensure that first-generation students experience the same sense of well-being, belonging, self-efficacy, and academic accomplishment as their continuing-generation peers.
• BU ARROWS: Advance, Recruit, Retain, and Organize women in STEM. The ARROWS mission is to organize, align, and vertically integrate programs created to advance women throughout the STEM community at Boston University.
• BU CAS Diversity and Inclusion: Recognizing that our goals in CAS can only be achieved through a diverse, inclusive, and accessible environment, in which all people are, and feel themselves to be, respected as moral equals engaged in a common pursuit of expanding the boundaries of our knowledge and creativity.
• BU Office of Diversity and Inclusion: The Office of Diversity & Inclusion leads the University’s efforts to advance a culture that values and supports diversity, equity, access, and inclusion across our campuses
• A Curated, Crowdsourced Cultural Guide to Boston: From the BU Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

• Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE): Organization whose goal is to strengthen the ability of women students to successfully complete PhD programs in the mathematical sciences and to place more women in visible leadership roles in the mathematics community. Along with the summer session, EDGE supports an annual conference, travel for research collaborations, travel to present research and other open-ended mentoring activities.
• EDGE Summer Session: Program for any woman whose goal is to attain a Ph.D. in the mathematical sciences. It is an intensive program for students who are applying to or have just completed their first year in a PhD program in the mathematical sciences.
• Smith College Center for Women in Mathematics Postbaccalaureate Program: If you are a woman who is strongly considering graduate school in the mathematical sciences but did not major in mathematics or your mathematics major was light, the postbaccalaureate program provides an opportunity to study mathematics intensively for two semesters at the advanced undergraduate level.
• GROW: The 2024 GROW conference will be held from Friday September 27 until Sunday September 29 at Columbia University. GROW is intended to provide support and encouragement to undergraduate students considering going to graduate school in the mathematical sciences and to help build a profession in which gender identity is not a barrier to participation. The conference has run annually since 2015 at different universities, and is open to all undergraduates from U.S. colleges and universities, including international students. Students of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities, races, nationalities and religions are encouraged to apply to GROW and these characteristics will not be used in determining funding or participation decisions.
• Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics (NCUWM): Yearly conference aimed at encouraging and mentoring undergraduate women in mathematics as they pursue graduate study in mathematics and seek mathematical careers

Students may be able to obtain free membership to some of the below organizations. Please contact your advisor if you are interested in becoming a student member of any of these organizations.

• National Association of Mathematicians (NAM): Organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the mathematical sciences and the mathematical development of all underrepresented minorities.
• Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS): Society that aims to further the success of Chicano/Hispanic and Native American students in obtaining advanced degrees, careers, leadership positions, and equality in STEM.
• Spectra: The association for LGBTQ+ mathematicians. See also the June 2021 article in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society on Spaces for All: The Rise of LGBTQ+Mathematics Conferences.
• Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM): The purpose of the Association for Women in Mathematics is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.
• Committee on Minorities in Statistics: Part of the American Statistical Association, their goal is to foster participation in statistics and data science by members of minority groups that have been historically underrepresented in the field of statistics.
• American Mathematical Society (AMS): One of the largest mathematics organizations in North America, the AMS supports the mathematical sciences by providing access to research, professional networking, conferences and events, advocacy, and a connection to a community passionate about mathematics and its relationship to other disciplines and everyday life
• Mathematical Association of American (MAA): One of the largest mathematics organizations in North America, the mission of the MAA is to advance the understanding of mathematics and its impact on our world. Their members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists; statisticians; STEM professionals, and many others in academia, government, business, and industry. They welcome all who are interested in the mathematical sciences.
• Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM): One of the largest organizations devoted to applied mathematics. SIAM hosts a variety of key conferences and journals for applied mathematicians.
• American Statistical Organization (ASA): One of the world’s largest communities of statisticians. The ASA supports excellence in the development, application, and dissemination of statistical science through meetings, publications, membership services, education, accreditation, and advocacy.

• PROMYS: A six-week summer program at Boston University designed to encourage strongly motivated high school students to explore in depth the creative world of mathematics in a supportive community of peers, counselors, research mathematicians, and visiting scientists.
• PROMYS for Teachers: Engages secondary school teachers in an intensive experience of mathematical problem solving with the goal of promoting a culture of exploration in mathematics classrooms. The immersive nature of the program provides a supportive environment where teachers can spend time as learners. The program consists of a six-week summer component at Boston University and five academic-year workshops.
• PROMYS Pathways: Part of enhanced efforts by PROMYS to reach out to mathematically talented students in Massachusetts, particularly those from low-income backgrounds and underrepresented in STEM, to help them explore challenging mathematical problems within a stimulating and supportive mathematical community.
• GeMsGetMath@BU: A five-day non-residential mathematics program at Boston University that is open to high schoolers, regardless of gender, who live in the greater Boston area.
• BU LERNet: Boston University Learning Resource Network; Coordinating enrichment programs in science, mathematics, and engineering for K-12 students.
• BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics): A program that brings advanced enrichment learning to low-income students, specifically in STEM fields. Right now they operate in NYC and LA.
• Cambridge School Volunteer: Tutoring program for Cambridge public school students that helps support their academic and personal success.

• Inclusion/exclusion blog from the AMS, which discusses various issues related to representation and social justice in mathematics.
• Mathematically Gifted and Black: Website featuring the accomplishments of Black scholars in the mathematical sciences.
• Mathematicians of the African Diaspora: Website dedicated to promoting and highlighting the contributions of members of the African diaspora to mathematics, especially contributions to current mathematical research.
• Lathisms: An accessible platform that features the multifaceted and diverse nature of the Latinx and Hispanic mathematics community to inspire the younger generation of Latinx mathematicians.
• Data for Black Lives: A movement of activists, organizers, and mathematicians committed to the mission of using data science to create concrete and measurable change in the lives of Black people.
• “Mathematicians urge colleagues to boycott police work in wake of killings,” an article published in Nature.
• Academics for Black Survival and Wellness: Organized by a group of Black counseling psychologists and their colleagues who practice Black allyship and guided by a Black feminist frame, they hope to foster accountability and growth for non-Black people and enhance healing and wellness for Black people.
• Resources for Anti-Racism and Social Justice in the Mathematical Sciences from The Aperiodical, a meeting-place for people who already know they like maths and would like to know more.