Diversity and Inclusion
The Statistics Department at NC State values and promotes diversity and inclusivity, which are critical to our pursuit of academic excellence. We all benefit from multiple viewpoints, experiences, and perspectives. A diverse environment enables our students, staff and faculty to succeed in today’s competitive global marketplace, and helps us to become truly engaged global citizens. Each member of the Statistics Department and our visitors enrich our community by contributing unique perspectives and backgrounds. It is expected that every member of our community uses their abilities and talents to make NC State a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.

Diversity Committee
Mission: Our commitment to diversity is built on our fundamental belief that our community and the Statistics department are better with diverse cultures, perspectives and members. More ->
Climate Committee
Mission: Developing and maintaining an inclusive and collegial department climate is important for retention and productivity. Enhancing the department climate increases morale and helps everyone reach their full professional potential. More->
Groups and Listserves
Diversity-Mathstat Listserv
This listserv provides a forum for discussion and tips for inclusive teaching and mentoring and topics at the intersections of the mathematical sciences and diversity, including announcements for the diversity and inclusion brown bag lunch group and the Statistics and Mathematics reading and discussion group on diversity. We invite everyone to subscribe, contact Seth Sullivant at smsulli2@ncsu.edu.
Professional Strategies Working Group
While graduate students receive high-quality research mentoring, professional norms are not generally taught. The Professional Strategies Working Group was established to provide students, particularly women and underrepresented minorities, with mentoring for career success. These groups may face different obstacles than students in the majority. The working group studies decision making and professional behavior, particularly for professional conferences. We also read books on professional development and leadership.
Diversity and Inclusion Brown Bag Lunch Group
This is a joint group for graduate students, postdocs and faculty in the statistics and mathematics departments. The meetings are informal, with discussions around inclusive teaching and departmental climate. Meeting times and locations are announced through the Diversity-Mathstat Listserv.
English Corner
English Corner is a place to practice communication skills by learning English idioms and having casual conversation. Everyone is welcome—whether you want to brush up on idioms or just want to socialize with other students. For the Fall 2021 semester, we are meeting virtually and in person (hybrid) on selected Thursdays at 4:30 pm in room 5104A. To confirm whether we’re meeting on a particular day, contact Alvin Sheng (asheng@ncsu.edu).
Statistics Department Minority Alumni Mentorship Program
This program connects Statistics graduate students with Statistics program alumni from the time they are accepted into the program onward. The alumni share experiences about what to expect in graduate school and answer any questions that the student may have. For more information, contact Donald Martin (demarti4@ncsu.edu) or Marcia Gumpertz (gumpertz@ncsu.edu).
Statistics Workshops, Traineeships, and Research Experiences to Enhance Diversity
SEAS Traineeships
The SEAS traineeship program immerses graduate students in a unique interdisciplinary curricular and research environment in which the trainees are team-mentored by a diverse group of faculty and external industry and national laboratory scientists. This is a collaborative project with North Carolina Central University.
DRUMS Research Experience for Undergraduates
The Directed Research for Undergraduates in Mathematics and Statistics program at NC State is funded by the NSF and the NSA. DRUMS will recruit a talented and diverse group of students from across the country each year to engage in an intensive summer research project under the supervision of NCSU faculty. The overarching goals of the summer research program are to get more undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds interested in graduate degrees in mathematical and statistical sciences and to provide research opportunities that can generate high-quality outputs.
Data Scientists in Training
The Data Scientists Training (DST) program at North Carolina State University is a year-long exploration for high school students and educators. Led by Dr. Eric C. Chi and Dr. Ana-Maria Staicu, the program was designed specifically to introduce high school students to potential careers in data science, this exploration program will also feature activities led by Sustainable Horizons Institute to enable students to explore, plan, and navigate their own career pathways.
GRAD-Future
GRAD-Future is a 2-day all-expenses paid workshop for rising juniors and seniors who are interested in learning more about graduate study in Statistics or Data Science and who are committed to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. The workshop will cover topics such as Why go to graduate school? What types of programs are there? How to prepare? How to fund graduate studies? and How to find a good match? Participants will interact with current graduate students and alumni to hear first-hand about what to expect in graduate school.
2023 Workshop Dates: Thursday – Friday, June 8 – 9, 2023.
Application deadline: January 15, 2023.
Math Alliance
NC State’s Departments of Statistics and Mathematics are proud to be gold-level members of the Math Alliance. The goal of the Math Alliance is to be sure that every underrepresented or underserved American student with the talent and the ambition has the opportunity to earn a doctoral degree in a mathematical science. Dr. Donald Martin (martin@stat.ncsu.edu) is the Statistics Department contact for the Math Alliance. Dr. Jacqueline Hughes-Oliver is a member of the Executive Council. Several Statistics Department faculty are Math Alliance Mentors. They are available to provide a mentoring network to underrepresented doctoral students in Statistics. To set up your own mentor network, contact Dr. Donald Martin (martin@stat.ncsu.edu).
Family-Friendly Resources
- The Statistics Department has Modified Duties guidelines allowing faculty to make temporary adjustments to changes to their responsibilities to accommodate family-related events, such as a new child in the family.
- The Statistics Department has a baby care room, dedicated for mothers of breastfeeding infants, on the 5th floor of SAS Hall.
Additional University and External Resources
NC State and the Statistical Societies offer many resources to help with inclusive mentoring and networking, diversity scholarships and research opportunities, providing accommodations, resolving diversity-related issues, and recruiting diverse faculty. Link to these resources ->