Award Highlights College of Computing’s Efforts to Grow Diversity in CS

*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************

Programs promoting minority CS participation yield results, but much more is needed

Contact

Albert Snedeker, Communications Manager

albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu

Sidebar Content
No sidebar content submitted.
Summaries

Summary Sentence:

The College of Computing has received the inaugural CMDiT University Award for its efforts to grow diversity in computer science.

Full Summary:

No summary paragraph submitted.

Media
  • GT Computing accepts diversity award at Tapia Conference 2017 GT Computing accepts diversity award at Tapia Conference 2017
    (image/jpeg)

Georgia Tech’s College of Computing is being recognized for its ongoing efforts to grow diversity in computer science (CS).

During an event held Sept. 21 at the 2017 ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing in Atlanta, the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT) presented College of Computing Executive Associate Dean Charles Isbell with the organization’s first annual University Award for Retention of Minorities and Students with Disabilities in Computer Science.

“We’re tremendously honored to be the inaugural recipient of the CMD-IT University Award for Retention of Minorities and Students with Disabilities in Computer Science,” said Isbell.

“The College of Computing is proud to be one of the country’s top three research universities in graduating underrepresented minority Ph.D. students in the past decade, but we know there is a long way to go and much work to be done. We look forward to continuing our work with CMD-IT and other partner organizations to help computing better reflect the full spectrum of the country.”

The CMD-IT award recognizes U.S. institutions that have shown a commitment to growing diversity, and that have proven results for the retention of students from underrepresented groups in undergraduate CS programs over the last five years.

The award, sponsored by Microsoft, is focused on growing participation and building retention rates in CS programs among the following underrepresented groups: African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and people with disabilities. The honor includes a $15,000 cash prize, which will be used to further the College’s diversity programs.

“Their strong retention programs and the documented results make Georgia Tech’s College of Computing an excellent role model for other universities. The College will be sharing more details of these programs at the faculty workshop at the Tapia Conference,” said Valerie Taylor, CMD-IT executive director.

The CMD-IT award decision was based on Georgia Tech’s impressive quantitative reported results, which reflected high retention and graduation rates, and qualitative reporting on its various retention programs. In particular, the CMD-IT awards committee pointed to four College of Computing programs that directly impact retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students:

  • Threads undergraduate curriculum – Students are given the opportunity to take control of their curriculum by choosing two of eight Threads to create plans that give them more than 28 different degree choices to follow. Data shows that students feel like they have more control and a better understanding of their degree program.
  • Georgia Computes and Project Rise Up – The two programs are spearheaded by the College of Computing and help increase engagement in CS by broadening participation of underrepresented groups at all educational levels.
  • Mandatory CS – All Georgia Tech undergraduate students are required to take one of three introductory CS classes. The three programs enable students to take courses that fit their level of experience in computer science.
  • Conference scholarships – The College of Computing provides students between 40 and 120 travel scholarships each year to leading tech conferences that focus on diversity. The program allows underrepresented students to make contacts, build support networks, and return with a feeling of renewed commitment to their degree program.

Additional Information

Groups

College of Computing, School of Computer Science

Categories
No categories were selected.
Related Core Research Areas
No core research areas were selected.
Newsroom Topics
No newsroom topics were selected.
Keywords
TAPIA, isbell, CMDiT, diversity, university award cmd-it, minorities, cs
Status
  • Created By: Ben Snedeker
  • Workflow Status: Published
  • Created On: Sep 21, 2017 - 10:10am
  • Last Updated: Sep 21, 2017 - 3:07pm