Dr. Mary Gray

Dr. Mary Gray is the author of books and papers in the fields of mathematics, mathematics education, computer science, applied statistics, economic equity, discrimination law, and academic freedom. She has lectured throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Her current research interests include applications of statistics in litigation, ethical issues in statistics, intellectual property and academic freedom, and language and gender issues in mathematics. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Karim Rida Said Foundation in London.

Professor Gray has served as consultant and expert witness on issues of university governance, academic freedom and tenure, faculty personnel policies, educational equity, and technology in higher education in the United States, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. She is currently visiting the Kings College (London) School of Medicine.

In 2001 Dr. Gray visited the three Kurdish provinces of Iraqi (Dohuk, Erbil, and Sulemaniya) to consult on issues in higher education, human rights, technology, and the conduct of a population census. During 2003 she worked on the USAID project, Revitalization of Iraqi Schools/Stabilization of Education, focusing on an inventory of the secondary schools of Iraq and community interviews with Iraqi parents and teachers.

The first president of the Association for Women in Mathematics and past president of the Women’s Equity Action League, Dr. Gray has been a member of boards and committees of such organizations as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Middle East Education Foundation, and the American Association of University Professors, has served as vice-president of the American Mathematical Society, is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was recently elected to membership in the International Statistical Institute. Professor Gray has been chair of the Board of Directors of Amnesty International USA, International Treasurer of Amnesty International, and chair of its international Development Committee. President Bush awarded her the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Mentoring.

Dr. Gray has previously taught at the University of Kansas, the University of California, Berkeley, and California State University, Hayward, and has worked at the National Bureau of Standards and as a consultant for a number of government agencies and private firms. She has served several terms as chair of her department and as Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at American University. Her undergraduate degree is from Hastings College, her Ph.D. is from the University of Kansas, and she has studied in Germany on a Fulbright grant. She also has a J.D. degree from Washington College of Law, American University and is a member of the District of Columbia and U.S. Supreme bars. She has been awarded honorary degrees by the University of Nebraska and Hastings College.