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April 2014
Volume 4, Issue 2
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Welcome to the April-May 2014 issue of the CMD-IT eNewsletter! We hope you are enjoying the start of Spring. This month we share some of the impact results from the 2014 Tapia Conference survey. The Education Corner features Engage CS Edu and our Meet the Staff series introduces you to our new team member Andrea Raines, CMD-IT Program Coordinator. We also encourage you to learn more about several diversity awareness events occurring in April and May including Autism Awareness, Asian-American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Older Americans Month.
If you would like to have your organization's events and job openings included in the next CMD-IT eNewsletter, please submit them to Michael Ruggiero, by June 1st.
Best regards,
CMD-IT Leadership
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Tapia Conference Supports Underrepresented Student Retention in Computing
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The ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference, held this past February, is a place where diverse individuals in computing can connect and informal mentoring can occur. Impact results from the 2014 Tapia Conference survey also indicate that the conference is especially instrumental in aiding in the retention of undergraduate and graduate students in computing.
In 2014, 84% of students were first time attendees, thereby increasing the reach of the conference. According to the survey, the top three reason why students chose to attend Tapia were:
- Meet professionals in the field,
- Meet recruiters for jobs, internships, post doc positions, etc.,
- Encouraged by their professor to attend.
Major finding from the survey included the following:
- 83% of students strongly agreed or agreed that attending Tapia increased their dedication to complete their degree.
- 89% of students strongly agreed or agreed that attending Tapia reaffirmed their belief that computing was the right career for them.
- 99% of students strongly agreed or agreed that they were confident that they would complete their degree.
 Additionally, access to mid-senior level professionals in computing and access to job and internship opportunities during the conference significantly contributed to the students' experiences at Tapia:
- 85% of students strongly agreed or agreed that they received valuable advice for getting through their educational program at Tapia.
- 87% of student strongly agreed or agreed that they learned about computing career paths at the conference.
The combination of the move to an annual conference and the growth in attendance indicates that the conference will continue to be instrumental in retaining underrepresented students and professionals in the computing field. Tapia 2014 had 700 attendees; Tapia 2015 that will be held in Boston, MA on February 18-21. The organizers are planning for over 800 attendees, which is a 31% increase in attendance from Tapia 2013.
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Academic Career Workshop Fosters Faculty Development
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,  CMD-IT wrapped up the month of March 2014 in Chicago, Illinois with the Academic Careers Workshop for Underrepresented Junior Faculty, Post-Docs, and Senior Graduate Students. The 2014 workshop was held at the James L. Allen Center, in the Kellogg School of Management located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
This year 23 participants ranging from Graduate Student to Associate Professor participated in the workshop. The workshop continued to focus on proposal writing, launching a research career, teaching, the Affinity Research Group model, entrepreneurship, and other topics. This year the organizers added a session on applying and interviewing for academic positions. Details of this year's workshop are available on the CMD-IT website.
 This workshop is generously sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is organized by the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities (CMD-IT), the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC), Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), and the Alliance for Access to Computing (AccessComputing).
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Andrea Raines,
CMD-IT Program Coordinator
Andrea Raines accepted the position of Program Coordinator for CMD-IT in February 2014. Prior to joining CMD-IT, she was a Business Coordinator II in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, where she handled the departments HR and payroll functions.
Andrea started working at Texas A&M University in 2002, as a Clerk III in the Continuing Education and Public Relations. Since beginning her career at Texas A&M University her roles and duties have increased with each position. Her experiences coupled with her broad knowledge of administrative and business sides of the university have enabled her to transition seamlessly into her new role with CMD-IT. "I am excited to be working with an organization that truly values diversity and takes great care in promoting inclusion for all."
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Engage CS Edu Creates Curriculum Repository to Retain Underrepresented Students in Computing
The Engage CS Edu project is a dynamic collection of high quality course materials for introductory computer science courses to help with retention and engagement of students underrepresented in computing--particularly women and minorities. The core of this online collection will be a collection of materials that are particularly engaging and creative approaches to introductory computer science concepts. The project is a collaborative effort between the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) and Google with an advisory group of expert computer science educators, social scientists and learning scientists to help guide the project.
Engage CS Edu gathers introductory course materials (CS1 and CS2), assignments, tutorials, labs, assessments, lecture notes, exercises and projects) from faculty from across the country creating a rich repository of materials to be used to broaden participation in computing. The collection, which has a beta release date scheduled for July 2014, will be of value to anyone who is teaching or planning to teach an introductory computer science course including tenured professors, teaching assistants, experienced teachers looking for new ideas or new instructors needing some expert guidance.
To learn more and to find out how to contribute to the project contact Engage CS Edu.
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 National Autism Awareness Month The month of April is recognized by the United States as National Autism Awareness Month. This recognition is brought about by World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) which is celebrated on April 2nd annually. World Autism Awareness Day provides an opportunity for organizations around the world to raise awareness about autism in unique ways. One such unique awareness raising event is "Light It Up Blue". All around the world, iconic landmarks, such as the Empire State Building, the Sydney Opera House, and the Ada Bridge, will engulf themselves with blue lights to bring attention to WAAD. An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States alone. The entire month of April is intended to increase the awareness of autism. Learn more about Autism Speaks. |
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Each year, Americans observe Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month during the month of May. During this month Americans celebrate the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843 and to also mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, whose workforce was a majority of Chinese immigrants, on May 10, 1869.
The observation originated in June 1977 as a congressional bill proclaiming the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week under President Jimmy Carter. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was singed into law.
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Older Americans Month
In 1963, President Kennedy began the process of designating the month of May as National Senior Citizen's Month. At that point in time, one third of the seventeen million American citizens older than sixty-five were living in poverty. In 1980, President Carter renamed this event to Older Americans Month and thus created a tradition of celebrating it annually. Every president since Kennedy has made a formal announcement at the start of Older Americans Month requesting that Americans remember all that past and current Older Americans have done for this country.
This year's theme is "Safe Today. Healthy Tomorrow." As we age, we are more prone to accidental falls and injuries, and that is why this year's theme focuses on the safety of older generations. Ensuring the safety of Older Americans allows them to live longer healthier lives. Learn more about Older Americans Month.
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Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
IBM
TRUST
University of California, Berkeley
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