School of Informatics and Computing

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Diversity

For a community to be truly special, everyone needs to feel welcome there. This is precisely the type of community we’re fostering at the School of Informatics and Computing—a place where students, faculty, and staff of both genders and all races and backgrounds are accepted and supported.

Our school is well on its way to becoming a national exemplar for diversity in computing and information technology. See Exemplar Repository

• We were named a Pacesetter (PDF) by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), which our dean, Bobby Schnabel, co-founded.
• Assistant Dean for Diversity and Education Maureen Biggers is also co-chair of NCWIT’s Academic Alliance and program manager for the Alliance for the Advancement of African-American Researchers in Computing (A4RC).
• In late 2009, we received three grants totaling more than $550,000 and aimed at broadening participation in computing-related disciplines.

In the Student Community

Our students come from all over the world, and we want all of them to succeed as students and professionals. Student groups and events ranging from a student talent show to Women in Informatics and Computing’s pumpkin carving and s’more roasting foster a strong bond among our students.

We also offer several opportunities for women and minorities to get involved, including the following:

• Women in Informatics and Computing (WIC) offers mentoring and leadership opportunities, and sponsors events such as a banquet recognizing faculty who have influenced female students and WIC Week, which features seminars on personal and professional development.
• Our chapter of the Empowering Leadership (EL) Alliance, a national alliance for supporting minorities in IT, provides funding for conferences and mentoring opportunities.
• The Informatics Research Scholars Program connects undergrad women and minorities with Ph.D. students in informatics and computer science to collaborate on research projects.

In the Classroom

Our focus on diversity in the classroom has two main components: creating classroom environments that promote the success of all students, and recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and instructors.

We emphasize research-based best practices in the classroom, holding professional development colloquia on research about recruiting and retaining diverse students. We also host weekly seminars for faculty and instructors who teach first- and second-year students.

Resources

• Broadening Participation in Computing, sponsored by the National Science Foundation
• Multicultural Calendar