Esteemed statistician Gray to present Distinguished Women in Science lecture March 8

Tuesday, Mar 01, 2022 • Greg Pederson :

Mary Gray has spent her career using her expertise in statistics and the law to fight for social justice around the world. As a trailblazer for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, she has been a mentor, role model and a tireless advocate for women in mathematics.

Gray, a distinguished professor of mathematics and statistics at American University in Washington D.C., was a founding member and the founding president of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). This organization is now in its 51st year as the leading national society for women in mathematical sciences. She is also a lawyer who has fought for the rights of all.

She will visit The University of Texas at Arlington as a special guest for the College of Science’s Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series on Tuesday, March 8, which is International Women’s Day. She will present a talk titled “Statistics and Social Justice” at 3:30 p.m. in SEIR Building Room 198. A reception will precede the lecture at 3 p.m. in the SEIR lobby.

“It is a responsibility and an honor to be able to use my knowledge and skills to work for social justice and in particular to guide others to do so,” Gray said. “There is much to be done at this time of International Women’s Day to work for the rights of everyone around the world.”

Gray, a native of Hastings, Nebraska, earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Kansas and a J.D. from Washington College of Law. After working at California State University at Hayward, she joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at American University in 1968.

In 1971 she helped create the AWM and served as its first president. She took direct action to address the lack of women in leadership roles in the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and served as an elected member of the AMS Council and then as AMS vice president. She testified before Congress and state legislatures involving economic issues of women’s rights in employment, education, sports, and the military.

In addition to advocating for women’s rights, Gray has worked for decades to promote social justice and human rights. She has served as chair of Amnesty International USA and as international treasurer of Amnesty International, and served for more than 20 years as chair of the American-Middle East Education Foundation board of directors. She has worked on statistical and human rights issues in nations including Iraq, Syria, Myanmar, Rwanda, Panama, and Sudan, and on civil litigation in the U.S.

At AU, Gray helped establish a Ph.D. program in mathematics and mathematics education and she obtained substantial funding for the program from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. She also established a program to bring 44 Palestinian and Syrian students to AU to earn master’s degrees in statistics or computer science. She created other programs designed to increase underrepresented student undergraduate participation in STEM with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Last year AWM established the Mary and Alfie Gray Award for Social Justice in honor of Gray and her late husband, Alfred, for their vigorous and imaginative application of the mathematical sciences to advancing the cause of social justice.

“Dr. Gray has done so much as an advocate for women in science and particularly for women in the mathematical sciences,” said Minerva Cordero, senior associate dean of the College of Science. “Beyond that she has given her time to so many organizations that work to protect and fight for human rights all over the world. She started her career when few women were going into STEM fields and in many cases were discouraged from doing so. Women’s voices weren’t being heard in those fields, and she fought to ensure that their voices were heard and their contributions valued.”

She has received numerous honors and awards for her work, including the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Mentoring in 2001, the Karl E. Peace Award for Outstanding Statistical Contributions for the Betterment of Society in 2017 from the American Statistical Association, as well as awards for mentoring from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of University Professors. She is a Fellow of the AMS, AWM, ASA, and AAAS. 

Gray has served as advisor to 34 Ph.D. students at AU, many of whom are from underrepresented groups and many of whom are now university faculty members. She has authored more than 175 books, chapters and journal articles in statistics, mathematics, economics, education, and the law.

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