College Profile 2023

BALANCING THE EQUATION

Women faculty in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences are adding up

C lemson Associate Professor took a business calculus class in her first semester in college that she knew just how much. “I took the class for fun, and I realized I was having a blast and doing great in a class. Other people were having much less fun,” said Cartor, who went into college as an unde clared major and thought of pursuing something in the sociology or criminal justice field. “I think a lot of times females, specifically, almost feel like they need permission to think that they’re good at math. For so long, females were told that guys are better at math and science and girls are better at language arts-type things,” she continued. “For tunately, my parents and my teachers told me that wasn’t the case, that I could learn anything.” Cartor is telling Clemson students the same thing. She is one of four women assistant Ryann Rose Cartor always liked math, but it wasn’t until she

‘I think a lot of times females, specifically, almost feel like they need permission to think that they’re good at math.’ Assistant Professor Ryann Rose Cartor

professors hired by the School of Mathematical and Statistical Science (SMSS) in the past two years, along with Keisha Cook, Xinyi Li and Cheng Guo. The hires boosted the number of women with tenure or on tenure tracks to 12. SMSS has 51 tenured or on a tenure-track faculty. “The hirings are significant for two reasons,” said Kevin James, founding director of SMSS. “Num ber one, we’re moving toward the gender diversity that we should have. Second, it puts us among leaders nationwide as far as having gender diversity among the faculty.” Traditionally, too few women have pursued careers in the mathematical

sciences. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, women earn 57 percent of bachelor’s degrees in all fields nationwide, but just 42 percent of the degrees in mathemat ics and statistics. Women earned 28 percent of doctorate degrees. Nationwide, 32 percent of full-time math faculty in higher education are women. In doctorate math programs, women comprise 24 percent of the fac ulty. Eleven percent of full professors at Ph.D. granting institutions are women. Each School hiring committee has a diversity advocate to ensure that applicants who are women or in un derrepresented groups receive careful consideration.