Climate & Diversity
Diversity and Inclusion Plan
Contacts & Reporting
- Talk with someone you trust in the Physics Department
- Talk with the department’s human resources generalist (Rachel Mattingly)
- Report an incident (option for anonymity available) through the official campus reporting system
- Review the Academic Policies and Guidelines from the Office of the Provost
We are always trying to improve the climate in the department and we welcome feedback. Please feel free to contact the members of the Climate and Diversity Committee with any input or suggestions. If you have a specific incident or concern you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact a faculty or staff member of the Climate and Diversity Committee, the Department Chair, or select your status with UW–Madison in the accordion panel below and choose one of the contact options listed.
The Climate and Diversity Committee is chaired by Prof. Matthew Herndon and includes Profs. Uwe Bergmann, Moritz Münchmeyer, and Melinda Soares-Furtado, staff members Evan Heintz, Katerina Moloni, Susan Nossal, and Sarah Perdue, and graduate students Ahmed Abdalkarim, Maggie Ju, and Sophia Nowak.
Department Contacts
- Kevin Black, Chair
- Tulika Bose, Climate & Diversity Committee Chair
- Department HR (currently vacant)
- Aimee Lefkow, Department Administrator
College of Letters & Sciences Contacts
- Lea Aune-Johnson, Director of Human Resources
- Ruth Litovsky, Associate Dean for the Natural and Physical Sciences
- Eric Wilcots, Dean
Ombuds Office
- Confidential, impartial, informal, independent, open to all faculty and staff at UW–Madison
Office of Compliance
- ADA: reporting incidents in violoation of the Americans with Disabilities act
- Title IX: reporting sexual harassment and sexual violence
- Equal Opportunity Investigation Program: reporting incidents in violation of state, federal and university non-discrimination policies and procedures, including but not limited to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
Hostile and Intimidating Behavior (HIB)
- Definitions, resources, and trainings
Department Contacts
- Kevin Black, Chair
- Tulika Bose, Climate & Diversity Committee Chair
- Department HR (currently vacant)
- Aimee Lefkow, Department Administrator
- Sharon Kahn, PhD Program Manager
- Alice Kwok, Graduate Advisor
- Additionally, you may contact
- Your advisor
- Your committee
- Keith Bechtol, Associate Chair for Graduate Program
- Deniz Yavuz, Director of MSPQC Program
University Health Services
- Mental Health Services (Let’s Talk, individual and group counseling, specific support groups for graduate students, Silver Cloud)
- Prevention Services (Alcohol and other drug abuse prevention, suicide prevention, violence prevention, and food assistance)
- Survivor Services
Office of Student Assistance and Support
College of Letters & Sciences Contacts
- Cheryl Adams Kadera, Director of Human Resources
- Gloria Marí Beffa, Associate Dean for the Natural and Physical Sciences
- Eric Wilcots, Dean
Office of Compliance
- ADA: reporting incidents in violoation of the Americans with Disabilities act
- Title IX: reporting sexual harassment and sexual violence
- Equal Opportunity Investigation Program: reporting incidents in violation of state, federal and university non-discrimination policies and procedures, including but not limited to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
Hostile and Intimidating Behavior (HIB)
- Definitions, resources, and trainings
Ombuds Office
- Confidential, impartial, informal, independent, open to all faculty and staff at UW–Madison
Department Contacts
- Kevin Black, Chair
- Mark Rzchowski, Associate Chair
- Tulika Bose, Climate & Diversity Committee Chair
- Department HR (currently vacant)
- Aimee Lefkow, Department Administrator
- A physics major advisor
University Health Services
- Mental Health Services (Let’s Talk, individual and group counseling, specific support groups for graduate students, Silver Cloud)
- Prevention Services (Alcohol and other drug abuse prevention, suicide prevention, violence prevention, and food assistance)
- Survivor Services
Office of Student Assistance and Support
College of Letters & Sciences Contacts
- Cheryl Adams Kadera, Director of Human Resources
- Gloria Marí Beffa, Associate Dean for the Natural and Physical Sciences
- Eric Wilcots, Dean
Office of Compliance
- ADA: reporting incidents in violoation of the Americans with Disabilities act
- Title IX: reporting sexual harassment and sexual violence
- Equal Opportunity Investigation Program: reporting incidents in violation of state, federal and university non-discrimination policies and procedures, including but not limited to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
Hostile and Intimidating Behavior (HIB)
- Definitions, resources, and trainings
Ombuds Office
- Confidential, impartial, informal, independent, open to all faculty and staff at UW–Madison
Department Contacts
- Kevin Black, Chair
- Tulika Bose, Climate & Diversity Committee Chair
- Department HR (current vacant)
- Aimee Lefkow, Department Administrator
Office of Compliance
- ADA: reporting incidents in violoation of the Americans with Disabilities act
- Title IX: reporting sexual harassment and sexual violence
- Equal Opportunity Investigation Program: reporting incidents in violation of state, federal and university non-discrimination policies and procedures, including but not limited to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
Land Acknowledgement Statement
The Department of Physics acknowledges that the University of Wisconsin–Madison occupies the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk, a place their nation has called Teejop since time immemorial.
In an 1832 treaty, the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede this territory.
Decades of ethnic cleansing followed when both the federal and state government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk from Wisconsin. We commemorate the resiliency of the Ho-Chunk and other eleven First Nations of Wisconsin.
This history of colonization informs our shared future of collaboration and innovation.
Today, we respect the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation, along with the eleven other First Nations of Wisconsin.
Department Initiatives
Physics Learning Center
The Physics Learning Center (PLC) is a student-support organization that provides a physics learning community for students in Physics 103, 104, 207, and 208. We offer many types of online resources including small group work, access to study materials, and extra exam review sessions.
GMaWiP
A group for the support and promotion of gender minorities and women in physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Graduate Student Recruiting
Representatives from our department will be attending several Physics conferences during 2020-21. Please see more details at our graduate student recruitment page.
Diversity and Inclusion Plan
This plan sets out an ambitious 10-year plan to continue to support and improve diversity and inclusion in our department. It highlights short- and long-term strategies and actions which should be taken by the department.
Thaxton Fellows
The Hubert Mack Thaxton Fellowship, named after Dr. Thaxton, MA '36, PhD '38, seeks to provide more equitable access to physics research experiences for undergraduates.
Climate Survey
The UW–Madison Department of Physics Climate & Diversity Committee conducted a department-wide climate survey from December 2021 through January 2022. In this report, we provide an executive summary, overview of departmental demographics, description of the survey process, an abridged summary of the survey results, and a series of recommendations and next steps.
Campus Resources
For faculty and staff
- College of Letters & Science Inclusive Excellence
- OutPages (requires NetID login)
For students
National Societies and Resources