IPAM and Diversity

Encouraging the careers of women and minority mathematicians and scientists is an important component of IPAM's mission.

Recruiting Organizers, Speakers, and Participants
IPAM places high priority on representation of women and underrepresented ethnic groups in IPAM programs, as speakers, organizers, and funded participants.

We emphasize our commitment to encouraging the careers of women and minorities on every program’s web page and promotional flyer, as well as in our quarterly electronic newsletter listing our programs and any advertising we do in SIAM News, AMS Notices and math calendar, and other publications.

IPAM makes significant effort to have female and/or minority representation on the organizing committees of both long programs and workshops. The Director and Associate Director work closely with the chair of the organizing committee to choose the members. Similarly, IPAM strongly encourages organizing committees to recruit women and underrepresented minority speakers.

Special attention is given to women and minorities who apply for funding to attend a long program, summer program or workshop.

IPAM subscribes to the newsletters of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM), and National Association of Mathematicians (NAM). In reading them, the director tries to identify members of underrepresented groups who are appropriate for an upcoming program, and then personally invites them to apply or attend.

Support for National Programs for Underrepresented Groups
IPAM has hosted and co-sponsored events targeting or serving women or minority groups. In November 2004, we hosted and sponsored the Blackwell-Tapia Conference and Prize Presentation. We have co-sponsored two workshops organized by the Anita Borg Institute at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: the Institute for Women and Technology Leadership Workshop in 2004, and the East Coast Leadership Workshop in 2005. In June 2005 we hosted the 11th Annual Conference for African American Researchers in the Mathematical Sciences (CAARMS). IPAM will host the 2010 Infinite Possibilities Conference, a two-day meeting of minority women in mathematics.

Finally, with the other NSF Math Institutes, IPAM supports AWM MentorNet (The Electronic Network for Women in Science and Engineering), co-sponsored and attended a reception at the 2007 and 2008 SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) National Conference and the "diversity reception" at 2008 Joint Mathematics Meetings, and participates in the Institutes’ diversity committee. In October 2008, the NSF math institutes sponsored the first annual Modern Mathematics Workshop, held in Salt Lake City immediately preceding the SACNAS National Conference.

Undergraduate Students
IPAM has been particularly successful recently in recruiting undergraduate women and minorities to participate in its summer program RIPS. In 2008, for example, 15 women and 5 African American or Hispanic students participated, out of 32 total.

IPAM advertises RIPS to women and minority groups every year. We routinely send literature to HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) member institutions. We also send literature to a number of women’s colleges. IPAM board member Arlie Petters (Duke) made a presentation on RIPS to participants of an undergraduate HBCU conference in 2006, and board member Rodrigo Bañuelos helped us promote RIPS to the Hispanic community.

In April 2008, IPAM hosted a one-day event “Making the Connection: Math in the Real World.” Two UCLA faculty members demonstrated the power of mathematics to solve real-world problems through their presentations. In recruiting students, we targeted community colleges with high minority enrollment. Fifty-six students attended; nearly half of them (27) identified themselves as Hispanic, Black/African American, or Native American. IPAM also cosponsored the first Scientific Empowerment Movement Conference held at UCLA, organized by Building Diversity in Science.

Services and Resources
IPAM added a “child care resources” page to its web site in 2007. The purpose is to direct workshop and long program participants who are bringing children with them to local child care options. It includes information on child care centers that accept children for short term, instructions for posting an ad for a babysitter, information on local hotels that offer child care or have playrooms, and a list of web sites and organizations that are available to assist someone with child care arrangements.