LGBT+ Student Group
A space for LGBT+ people in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences to come together and discuss challenges they face or may face at university in a safe environment. Staff involved in EDI work can also advertise opportunities, provide encouragement, and support applications.
The School of Mathematics and Statistics founded its LGBT+ student group as a place for LGBT+ students in the mathematical sciences to network. In addition to a support structure, this group gives LGBT+ students in the School an environment to fully be themselves. The New School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences has allowed this group to grow into one which supports people in Physics, Astronomy, and Chemistry.
Due to the nature of the group, it is important to note that students can join this group in whichever level of openness or anonymity they like. Not even active members can see who else is in the group. This aspect is particularly important when it comes to students who are still figuring things out or come from a background where attitudes towards LGBT+ rights are less positive.
The group was founded by Dr Mark Yarrow, who came to the University of Sheffield as a PhD student in 2015 and became a permanent member of staff in summer 2019. As well as teaching courses on probability and statistics, Mark’s primary role is as the Executive Editor for the Applied Probability Trust and Executive Manager of the Biometrika Trust, two charities which facilitate the publishing of research in the area of applied probability and statistics via three world leading journals, Advances in Applied Probability, the Journal of Applied Probability, and Biometrika. Mark holds the role of Tutor for LGBT+ Students in MPS.
People interested in joining the LGBT+ MPS Group should look out for emails at the start of each semester or email Dr Mark Yarrow for more details. We asked Mark a few questions about the group’s activities in recent years, which you can read in a Q&A below:
