The UCLA Department of Mathematics — faculty, staff, and students — is committed to fostering an atmosphere of respect, collegiality, and sensitivity. The Department upholds the policies of the university regarding discrimination and harassment. But beyond that, we strive to provide a welcoming and supportive environment for all. In most situations, simple common sense and good judgment should suffice as guidance, but we appreciate that some questions of appropriate behavior can be more complex and subtle. Instead of focusing on this fine line, we encourage faculty, staff, and students to pursue genuinely respectful and supportive interactions, rather than ones that are merely appropriate.

Here are some ways you can help foster collegiality within the Department:

-Reach out to people in the program whom you do not know, and actively build new connections.
-Encourage mutual respect for similarities and differences–in background, expertise, judgments, and assigned responsibilities, with the goal of establishing mutual trust between colleagues.
-Welcome diversity and encourage diverse opinions.
-Avoid demeaning others or aggressively challenging their competence or mathematical abilities.
-Refrain from promoting bias and stereotypes about race, nationality, religion, gender and sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics.
-Understand that behavior can have an adverse impact on others, even in the absence of malicious intent by the actor.

For guidance about your own behavior, or if you think you have experienced or witnessed discrimination or harassment of any kind, we urge you to seek advice and support. Any member of the faculty or staff whom you trust is an appropriate contact person. In particular, you may contact the Department Chair or the Faculty Ombudsperson. When addressing concerns about discrimination or harassment, the faculty and staff endeavor to proceed discreetly, respecting the privacy of individuals insofar as possible. However, in some cases, policy or law may require that department members contact an appropriate university authority.

Faculty Ombudsperson: Professor Monica Visan can be reached at ombuds@math.ucla.edu.

*This statement is modeled after the UC Berkeley and Rice University Department of Mathematics Statement on Collegiality, Respect, and Sensitivity and the MSRI Collegiality Statement.