EDGE program
| Established | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Sylvia Bozeman Rhonda Hughes |
| Type | 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | Support for women pursuing careers in the mathematical sciences |
President | Ami Radunskaya |
Vice President | Cecilia Conrad |
Vice-President | Ulrica Wilson |
Secretary and Treasurer | Talithia Williams |
| Sylvia Bozeman Robert Bryant Ingrid Daubechies Lloyd Douglas Raegan Higgins Rhonda Hughes Ellen Kirkman Cara Petonic | |
| Website | EDGE Foundation |
The EDGE Foundation (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) is an organization which helps women get advanced degrees in mathematics.[1]
History
EDGE was launched in 1998 by Sylvia Bozeman and Rhonda Hughes to support female students pursuing graduate degrees in the mathematical sciences.[2] The first EDGE summer session was held at Bryn Mawr College in 1998 and the location alternated between Bryn Mawr and Spelman College until 2003. After 2003 the sessions were held at Pomona College, Florida A&M University, Harvey Mudd College, Mills College, New College of Florida, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, Purdue University, and Texas Tech.[3]
- Sponsors of EDGE
EDGE receives support from The National Science Foundation.[4] Other sponsors include:[5]
- American Mathematical Society
- Bryn Mawr College
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- Cornell University
- Henry Luce Foundation
- National Security Agency
- Pomona College
- Spelman College
- Springer Publishing
- Texas Tech University
- University of Nebraska
- University of Washington
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Impact
In 2015 EDGE received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM)[6] The citation for the award commented on the phenomenal success of this organization, and noted that at the time of the award over 200 women had participated in 16 EDGE summer sessions. Fifty-six women (of whom 46 percent are minorities) had completed Ph.D. programs, and over 65 were still working toward their Ph.D. Remarkably, in 2009, EDGE participants accounted for over 35 percent of all Ph.D.s granted to African-American women.[6]
In 2019, Karen Uhlenbeck became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Abel Prize, which is considered the Nobel Prize of mathematics. On May 21, 2019 Uhlenbeck was presented the Abel Prize by King Harald of Norway, and in an interview with Ionica Smeets following the ceremony, Uhlenbeck announced that she will be donating half of her Abel Prize award to the EDGE program and the Institute for Advanced Study's Women and Mathematics (WAM) Program.[7][8]
Awards
On April 11, 2015 the Association for Women in Mathematics presented their “A Mathematics Program that Makes a Difference” Award to EDGE and commended Sylvia Bozeman and Rhonda Hughes for their success in promoting diversity. The citation reads, in part:
Be it resolved that the American Mathematical Society and its Committee on the Profession recognize the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education Program for its significant efforts to increase the presence of women, with a special focus on women of color, in the upper ranks of mathematical scientists.[9]
Similarly named organization
This EDGE foundation should not be confused with the similarly named Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE) project, an initiative of the United Nations Statistics Division that seeks to improve statistics associated with gender issues.[10] There is also a science and technology think tank and website named Edge Foundation, Inc.[11]
References
- ^ Mathematics Programs That Make a Difference Notices of the American Mathematical Society Vol 54, Num 5, May 2007
- ^ About the Foundation The EDGE Foundation
- ^ Former Summer Session Host Institutions The EDGE Program
- ^ Division Of Mathematical Sciences Awards National Science Foundation Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE)
- ^ the edge program: our sponsors
- ^ a b OSTP and NSF to honor 140 individuals and organizations with highest US award for teachers and mentors NSF News release: June 25, 2018
- ^ EDGE to receive extraordinary gift from Abel Prize winner, Karen Uhlenbeck EDGE News, May 21, 2019
- ^ Abel prize winners give millions to bring out minorities and women in academia By Martin Toft, Online newspaper for the University of Oslo, May 22, 2019 [in Norwegian]
- ^ Bozeman and Hughes Receive Presidential Award Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education through the EDGE program
- ^ The Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE) project United Nations
- ^ Edge.org website