At its core, our department views diversity and inclusion as critical within our mission to educate and prepare the future workforce of data scientists and quantitative thinkers. Increasing diversity across our field is essential in creating more productive, representative, and enriching outcomes as well as innovative solutions to critical problems. We recognize that historically, the job markets and academic communities in statistical theory and methods, financial mathematics, and actuarial science have been weighted toward racial, gender, and socioeconomically privileged communities. We are dedicated to correcting this imbalance in our own community.
Executive Summary of DEI Action Plan
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
The DEI committee is composed of staff, students and faculty who serve in various roles and capacities. The goals of the DEI committee are to incorporate DEI concerns into all department programs and processes, to track progress toward these goals, and to communicate progress to the faculty, staff and students. The DEI committee also serves as the central communications hub that bridges the social and academic life in the department. Three dedicated roles are assigned to the undergraduate, graduate and faculty diversity officers. The diversity officers are tasked with authoring and maintaining the department’s DEI action plan as well as overseeing its implementation with the approval of the department.
Julie Swenson (Faculty)
Uma Ravat (Faculty)
Graduate Student Representatives
Undergraduate Student Representatives
Staff Representatives
Wendy Meiring (Diversity Officer (Faculty))
Jack Miller (Diversity Officer (Undergrad))
Alexander Shkolnik (Diversity Officer (Grad))
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workshops
Resources
UCSB Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Graduate and Postdoctoral scholars
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources
The Diversity Officers are departmnet leaders, advisors, advocate, catalysts for change, and institutional resource focused on infusing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into all programs and activities tracking progress toward the goald and communicating progress to our engaged community. The Diversity Officers meet as a group as directed by the Office of Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. All members including undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty and staff who have questions on department equity and inclusion are encouraged to contact Diversity Officers.