Diverse, welcoming, caring.

In the David and Judi Proctor Department of Mathematics, we support the mission and statement from the university's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In addition, we strive to embody the following:

• A diverse team, where all of us contribute our unique perspectives and experiences for the development of our discipline and the betterment of our community.
• A welcoming environment, where everyone with interest in mathematics or mathematics education is encouraged to participate, and where we nurture that interest in society at large.
• A caring environment, where we support each other, where we are conscious of everyone's needs, and where we work towards helping everyone succeed professionally.

In the mathematical community, as well as in society at large, we face serious challenges regarding these goals. Groups of people have been historically excluded, treated unfairly, and treated with indignity. Despite improvements, there still exist certain cases where this continues. True advancement of our discipline requires that all in our society enjoy the benefits of such advancement.

We feel that it is important that we work towards this advancement, for the well-being and success of our students. We also believe that our department will benefit from efforts to become more diverse, inclusive, and equitable. Diverse groups are likely to be more creative, make better decisions, and perform better. To achieve and maintain diversity, we must be welcoming to any new members to our community and continue to be caring and supportive of those in it.

Diverse, welcoming, caring. Achieving these three goals is an essential part of the mission of the Mathematics Department at OU.