The LMS, Royal Statistical Society, Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and Edinburgh Mathematical Society have written an open letter to the vice-chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London expressing serious about proposed cuts to the Mathematics and Statistics department.
In the letter to Professor David Latchman, LMS President, Professor Ulrike Tillmann, alongside presidents from the other mathematical societies, point out that the proposed reductions in the teaching capacity will mean the department will become too small to be viable, resulting in a desert of provision for mature students with mathematics.
The letter notes that Birkbeck has a unique and crucial role in the widening participation of higher education. The Birkbeck student body is diverse, and the UK needs to foster an ongoing flow of talented mathematicians from diverse backgrounds to continue to contribute to social and technical advances in the century ahead.