DEI Statement

The Center for Quantitative Sciences (CQS) supports teaching and research that applies mathematics and statistics to address environmental questions. Through improved understanding of the biology, behavior, and ecology of species and ecosystems, as well as the drivers of human activity, quantitative sciences provide critical information that improves human well-being, sustainable use of renewable resources to preserve inter-generational equity, and the conservation and protection of species of high cultural and ecological value. 

 Achieving these outcomes requires the participation of a diverse community of scholars with different lived experiences. While quantitative methods are sometimes considered objective, applications of quantitative methods are done by people, and as such, are prone to individuals’ biases, both implicit and explicit. For example, the development of modern statistics was rooted in racism, specifically with a desire to promote eugenics. We acknowledge the role this historical context and systematic oppression has played in the development of statistics, and how it has continued to influence the ways we teach and apply quantitative sciences today. Diverse perspectives and backgrounds need to guide our proposed research questions, study locations, and community interactions in order to promote more fair and equitable science. 

For these reasons, CQS aspires to cultivate a diverse community of quantitative scientists, where each person feels welcome regardless of their identity (including dimensions such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, economic status, and physical ability), and all have equitable opportunities to fulfill their careers in our field.