Diversity Statement

The Gettysburg College Physics Department is committed to providing a welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. The department recognizes our responsibility for furthering and supporting diversity, and how our contributions can create a stronger and more vibrant physics community. We recognize that a history of unequal access and bias has prevented physics from realizing its potential as a diverse and inclusive field. We strive to enable our students, regardless of their race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, gender identity, disability, or nationality, to enjoy the wonders and opportunities that a physics education has to offer. The Gettysburg College Physics department will actively work to increase diversity in our major and promote positive change in our department as well as Gettysburg College and the larger field of Physics.

Physics Department Inclusion Action Plan

  1. Commit to educating ourselves on anti-racism.
  2. Commit to educating ourselves on the ways in which the physics community has excluded and marginalized certain groups of people, and how we can actively work to ensure those groups are included and supported.
  3. Commit to ongoing efforts to examine our physics courses to ensure that they are inclusive, equitable, and active learning spaces that reflect the values of our department.
  4. Highlight the work of historically underrepresented people in physics in our courses.
  5. Incorporate components into our courses that directly recognize and challenge historical bias and exclusion in physics.
  6. Ensure that our colloquium speakers represent diverse people, experiences, and career paths.
  7. Maintain an environment in Physics Department spaces, including our student lounge and all classrooms, where all members of the department (students, faculty, staff, visitors) feel valued and that they belong.
  8. Provide opportunities for student feedback (including anonymous feedback) on the department’s inclusivity efforts.
  9. Provide opportunities for students to attend conferences highlighting the work of (and challenges faced by) traditionally underrepresented physicists.
  10. Model respectful and inclusive discourse for our students amongst ourselves and in our classes.
  11. Revisit this document annually and develop ways to hold ourselves and our students accountable.

Resources

There are many who are actively working on change in the physics community and at Gettysburg College. Here is an (incomplete) list of resources to learn more:

Physics department resources

Join the GC-PIAD mailing list (Gettysburg College Physicists for Inclusion and Diversity)

Physics field resources

Gettysburg College resources