Department 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. Our mission is then to ensure that the Department of Statistics is an equitable, fair, safe, and inclusive community where everyone feels supported and can thrive, and to see that transparency of department policies and practices is maintained. This will be carried out by regularly assessing department climate and implementing appropriate strategies for improvements.
Charge
Assessing Department Climate
- Develop a survey instrument to assess department climate among faculty, staff and students.
- Implement and analyze regular surveys and exit surveys.
- Apply results in formulating procedures to improve climate.
Enhancing Department Climate
- Fostering transparency
- Share results of climate surveys with department.
- Share resources related to promoting a healthy climate with department.
- Share resources related to holistic health of department members.
- Make sure that all departmental policies are clearly accessible.
- Share information on who to talk to if there is an issue.
- Fostering equity and fairness
- Create a document with best practices for enhancing and maintaining a healthy climate.
- Hold informal lunchtime meetings for faculty/staff//students to have discussions, discuss climate issues, etc.
- Implement Math Alliance mentoring program for underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students.
- Facilitate peer mentoring for graduate students (meeting of graduating student with current ones, informal interactions, sharing of information for students in different stages of their career).
- Fostering respect
- Celebrate diverse cultures.
- Share and celebrate accomplishments.
- Nominate department members for awards.
Coordinating with Diversity Committee
- One member of the Climate Committee shall serve as a member of the Diversity Committee.
- The Diversity Committee and Climate Committee hold joint meetings at least once per semester.
- Both Committees shall contribute to and provide updates to the Statistics Department Diversity and Inclusion website, https://statistics.sciences.ncsu.edu/know-us/diversity-and-inclusion/
- The Diversity Committee and Climate Committee shall jointly work on areas that overlap both charges, such as developing inclusive curricula and peer mentoring.
Membership
Sujit Ghosh, Emily Griffith, Dan Harris, Emily Hector, Donald Martin (chair), Jung-Ying Tzeng, Shuting Wang, Eric Yanchenko (GSA rep).
For more information, please contact the Committee Chair, Donald Martin (martin@stat.ncsu.edu).