CONWAY, Ark. (August
31, 2020) — The Hendrix College Department of Physics has been accepted into
the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance
(IDEA) network of the American
Physical Society (APS).
APS is one of the
largest professional organizations for physicists in the world. The APS-IDEA
network is a new
initiative meant to establish an international community of departments and
organizations working to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“The department
wrote an application for a team that includes each faculty member, our lab
manager, a senior student, and a sophomore student,” said Dr. Todd Tinsley ’98,
professor of physics. “That application described the strides we have made in
our department in creating a welcoming place for women, and we described the
ways we want to broaden that work to include a more intersectional vision for
diversity in our department.”
In its
application, the department specifically mentioned increasing attention to
recruitment and retention of LGBTQ+ students and students of color, considering
activities, events, and practices that acknowledge the diversity of physics
majors and also help to foster a bond among those students and with the department,
regardless of their individual identities.
Tinsley also
credited Associate Provost for Faculty Development Dr. Leslie Templeton ’91 in
the efforts that led to the department achieving the designation. “Her work as
has been critical to our past successes and our thinking about the future,” he
said.
The APS-IDEA
Application Review Committee provided positive feedback to the Hendrix
Department of Physics, applauding the department’s previous efforts to advance equity,
diversity, and inclusion, its significant support from the administration, and the
proposed team’s makeup. The team is reflective of all the stakeholders in the
department—faculty, staff, and students:
- Julie
Gunderson ’06, Assistant Professor of Physics
- Jacob
Nordin ’21, Senior Physics Major
- Damon
Spayde, Professor of Physics
- John
Steward ’94, Lab Manager
- Todd
Tinsley ’98, Professor of Physics, Department Chair
- Mayra
Velazquez ’23, Sophomore Physics Major
- Ann
Wright, Professor of Physics, Natural Sciences Area Chair
“On May 30,
President Arnold challenged our community to ‘demonstrate our support of our
students and our community, not just with statements on paper, but with acts of
genuine love and support,’” Tinsley added. “Our department believes that the
IDEA network is a way for us to focus on those acts, and our team is excited to
get started on this work.”
About Hendrix College
A private liberal
arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns
recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is
featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think About Colleges.
Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix
as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876,
Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.