College of Sciences Faculty Diversity Council

Ongoing Goal

To enhance the success and visibility of under-represented and under-served groups within the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech, as part of a commitment to fairness and collegiality at that benefits the Tech community as a whole and raises the impact and visibility of our scientists and mathematicians.

Mandate of the CoS Faculty Diversity Council

  1. Educate the CoS & GT community about issues related to academic diversity
  2. Lead CoS & GT efforts to embrace and foster diversity with recommendations to the Dean for improved policies and practices, including salaries and allocation of university resources
  3. Address current needs and issues with activities planned within CoS
  4. Connect community members to the broader GT and CoS communities through focused activities related to these issues
  5. Publicly celebrate successes of women and under-represented group members


2020 College of Sciences Task Force on Racial Equity
(Established June 23, 2020)

Focus Areas for 2019-2021
(2020 Action Groups established February 20, 2020)

  1. "GRExit" exploration
  2. Growing student leadership
  3. Best practices in hiring
  4. Relationships with HBCUs
  5. Sexual harassment flowchart
  6. Gender-neutral restrooms and signage
  7. Institute DEI funding (travel awards for students)

Focus Areas for 2020-2021

  1. Diversity and equity in faculty hiring best practices
  2. Removing the GRE as a requirement for graduate school applications
  3. Task Force on Racial Equity

Focus Areas for 2018-2019

  1. Improving and clarifying Georgia Tech’s policies and practices for parents
  2. Growing student leadership
  3. Clarifying Title IX / sexual harassment policies and reporting procedures
  4. Classroom inclusivity

Focus Areas for 2017-2018

  1. Improving and clarifying Georgia Tech’s policies and practices for parents
  2. Growing student leadership
  3. Clarifying Title IX / sexual harassment policies and reporting procedures
  4. Classroom inclusivity

Focus Areas for 2016-2017

  1. Improving and clarifying Georgia Tech’s policies and practices for parents
  2. Dealing with biased teaching evaluations
  3. Equality and inclusiveness for non-tenure track faculty
  4. Growing student leadership

Focus Areas for 2014-2016

  1. Equitable academic careers
  2. Growing diverse leadership
  3. Inclusive and supportive academic climate

The CoS Faculty Diversity Council is constituted in two forms: a larger Council that advises the Dean and raises issues to be considered; and smaller action groups that execute plans based on a deeper exploration of the issues raised by the Council at large and by the Dean. The larger Council consists of 10-15 members plus ex-officio and affiliate non-voting members; these 10-15 members are appointed by the Dean for terms of up to 3 years with members rotating off in different years. The larger council meets twice each fall and spring semester. Action groups are assembled by consensus within the larger Council following discussion at its fall meeting, and are designed to focus on high-priority issues identified by the Council for action that year. The action groups may meet more frequently than the larger Council, with the associate dean acting as secretary to both groups.

2019-2020 Membership

Ex-Officio:

  • Matthew Baker, Associate Dean, College of Sciences
  • Kim Cobb, CoS ADVANCE Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Julia Kubanek, Associate Dean, College of Sciences
  • Wing Li, Professor, School of Mathematics
  • Keith Oden, Director of Academic Diversity, College of Sciences