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September 2013
Dear *|FNAME|*,
Welcome to the 2013-2014 academic year; we hope you are energized to begin another year with the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) Academic Alliance (AA).
Please peruse the NCWIT AA newsletter to keep you updated on our activities and to inform you about our opportunities. To learn more about the NCWIT Academic Alliance, click here.
Contents
- NCWIT Member-Only Opportunities
- NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund Round 10 Call for Proposals
- NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund Round 9 Winners Announced!
- Student Seed Fund Round 7 Call for Proposals
- Student Seed Fund Round 6 Winners Announced!
- Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award 2014 Call for Nominations
- Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award 2013 Recipients Announced!
- The Topplers Domino Award: A Transformative Experience for Your Students
- Aspirations in Computing Award Applications Open Soon & Regional Award Programs Still Wanted
- NCWIT Looks Forward to Seeing You at the Grace Hopper Celebration
- Sit With Me
- 2014 NCWIT Summit
- Academic Alliance (AA) Meetings at NCWIT Summit
- Academic Alliance (AA) Goal Tracking System
- AA Co-Chair and Project Team Leader Changes
- AA Project Team Reports
- NCWIT Resources
NCWIT Member-Only Opportunities
We hope that you find your membership in NCWIT beneficial to both you and your institution. NCWIT has three opportunities currently open to our members and we continue to be grateful to our sponsors: AT&T, Microsoft Research, and Symantec. Please consider applying for at least one of these opportunities or passing the information to the relevant person(s) or group.
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NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund Round 10 Call for Proposals (Deadline: 10/14/2013)
 NCWIT is thrilled that Microsoft Research will again sponsor the NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund. The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund awards U.S. university members of NCWIT’s AA with start-up funds (up to $10,000 per project) to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting women and under-represented populations in computing and information technology. This year’s call for proposals focuses on using existing promising and effective practices for recruiting and retaining women and under-represented populations into your computing-related majors. The deadline for submission of the short 3-page proposals for Round 10 of the NCWIT Academic Alliance (AA) Seed Fund program, is October 14th, 2013, at midnight MT and we hope you will consider submitting yours. Winners will be announced in late-February. Click here for more details and information about how to apply.
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NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund Round 9 Winners Announced!
Co-Chair Liaisons: Margaret Burnett (Oregon State University), Charlie McDowell (University of California-Santa Cruz), Patricia Morreale (Kean University)
The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund, sponsored by Microsoft Research, has awarded 34 programs with funds to recruit, retain, and support women in computing. On February 12th, we announced the winners of the Round 9 Seed Fund, who each received a $10,000 award to support an initiative that aligns with NCWIT’s mission of recruiting, retaining, and supporting women in technology- and computing-related majors. And here they are!
- Auburn University – Computer Science for All Girls (CS4ALL-G)
- Columbia University – The Artemis Project
- Livingstone College – Livingstone College Bridge Program Technology
- Southern Illinois University – Android Development Camp for Middle School Girls
- University of California, Berkeley- CS KickStart
You can read the press release here.
2013 Microsoft Research Seed Fund Winners (L to R): Colleen Lewis (Harvey Mudd College), Kathryn Moland (Livingstone College), Nancy Martin (Southern Illinois University), Krysta Svore (Microsoft Research), Daniela Marghitu (Auburn University). Not pictured: Tal Malkin (Columbia University)
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Student Seed Fund Round 7 Call for Proposals (Deadline: 10/20/2013)
Please pass the following information along to any computing organizations at your institution:
 The seventh round of the Student Seed Fund has begun! With funding from Symantec, the Student Seed Fund supports programs and initiatives for student organizations that promote increased women in computing and IT programs on our U.S. AA member campuses. To date the AA has awarded 70 student organizations up to $750 each and that amount has been increased to $1,000 during this round! To view previous winners and learn more about the Student Organization Seed Fund click here.
Applications will be accepted from any student computing or IT related student group that is involved in recruiting, retaining and supporting women in technology related majors and are therefore in alignment with the mission of NCWIT. The institution where the student group resides must be a member of the NCWIT Academic Alliance and within the U.S. Click here to see if your institution is currently a member of the NCWIT AA. (Note: An institution can receive only one award per campus institution per year.) Please click here to apply online. The deadline is October 20, 2013 to submit an application for the Fall Semester. Winners will be notified on November 30, 2013.
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Student Seed Fund Round 6 Winners Announced!
Project Leader: Stephanie Ludi (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Project Team Members: Julie Mariga (Purdue University), Susan Martin (University of Maryland-Baltimore County), Linda Ott (Michigan Technical University), Cheryl Swanier (Fort Valley State University)
Co-Chair Liaison: Charlie McDowell (University of California-Santa Cruz)
The NCWIT Student Seed Fund, sponsored by Symantec, has awarded 70 student-run programs with funds to recruit, retain, and support women in computing. On April 30th, we announced the winners of the Round 6 Student Seed Fund, who will each receive a $750 award to support an initiative that aligns with NCWIT’s mission of recruiting, retaining, and supporting women in technology- and computing-related majors. And here they are!
- Boston University – Boston University Women in Computer Science
- Columbia University – Columbia University Women in Computer Science
- Cornell University – Association of Computer Science Undergraduate for Women (ACSU-W)
- Georgia Gwinnett College – Technology Ambassador Program (TAP)
- Indiana University, Bloomington – Women Empowered to Succeed in Technology (WESIT)
- Livingstone College – Females in Technology (FiT)
- Oregon State University – Students in Technology, Academia, Research, and Service (STAR) Leadership Corps
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College – Building Future Experiences Club
- The College of New Jersey – Women in Computer Science
- University of Texas at Dallas – Society of Women Engineers
- Tulane University – Women in Technology
- University of South Alabama – Jaguar Women in Technology (J-WIT)
- Villanova University – Villanova Women in Computer Science (VWCS)
- Virginia State University – Walter M. Johnson Math & Computer Science Club
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Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award 2014 Call for Nominations (Deadline 10/27/2013)
NCWIT is delighted to announce that the NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award now includes a cash award thanks to the sponsorship of AT&T. The NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award recognizes U.S. institution Academic Alliance representatives for their outstanding mentorship, high quality research opportunities, recruitment of women and minority students, and efforts to encourage and advance undergraduates in computing related fields. The deadline for submission of nominations for the NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award 2014 is October 27th, 2013, at midnight MT. Click here to complete a short online nomination form and click here for more details on this award. You can nominate more than one person and self-nomination is perfectly acceptable.
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Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award 2013 Recipients Announced!
Project Leader: Scott McCrickard (Virginia Polytechnic Institute)
Co-Chair Liaison: Margaret Burnett (Oregon State University)
The NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award recognizes U.S. institutions Academic Alliance representatives for their outstanding mentorship, high quality research opportunities, recruitment of women and minority students, and efforts to encourage and advance undergraduates in computing related fields.
The NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award, sponsored by AT&T, has awarded institutions affiliated to the eight winning 2012 and 2013 faculties with funds to recruit, retain, and support women in computing. On May 2013 NCWIT Summit, we announced the winners of the 2013 Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award, whose institution will receive a $5,000 award to support an initiative that aligns with NCWIT’s mission of recruiting, retaining, and supporting women in technology- and computing-related majors. And here they are!
2013 URM Award (L to R): Tommy Simpson (AT&T), Scott McCrickard (Virginia Tech), Patricia Morreale (Kean University), Anne Ngu (Professor, Department of Computer Science, Texas State University), Cheryl Swanier (Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Fort Valley State University), Fay Cobb Payton (Associate Professor, Information Systems, North Carolina State University) and Margaret Martonosi (Professor, Department of Computer Science, Princeton University)
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The Topplers Domino Award: A Transformative Experience for Your Students
Topplers Domino Award, which takes computer science students on a trip to see innovation in tech first-hand, is celebrating its 13th year and expanding for the 2013/2014 school year. This scholarship is a great opportunity for computer science students to experience the cutting edge of computer science trends and to meet and network with exciting innovators in the field. Women have been among the award winners for the past three years, and have accounted for nearly half of the entries in the 2013 competition!
Named after the “domino effect,” the Domino Award asks students to write a 500 word essay about a computer scientist whose work has “Set Big Things In Motion,” making a lasting impact on our world. Winners are awarded a $500 scholarship and an all-expenses paid trip to inspire them to “think big” about the impact they can have on the world through their degree and future careers. Past trips have taken winners to the Telluride Technology Festival, Spaceport America in New Mexico, and to Silicon Valley, where winners visited Facebook, Google, Twilio, Dropbox, and more.
For the 2014 Award, we will be expanding to bring this unique opportunity to seven new universities, who will join the computer science departments at University of Colorado at Boulder, University of California at Irvine, and University of California at Santa Cruz. A winner will be selected from each of the 10 participating universities.
Contact us at [email protected] to learn about bringing the Domino Award program to your students. Learn more at dominoaward.topplers.org.
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Aspirations in Computing Award Applications Open 9/15/2013 & Regional Award Volunteers Wanted (Deadline 10/31/2013)
Project Co-Leaders: Matthew Hertz (Canisius College), Kamaljeet Sanghera (George Mason University)
Co-Chair Liaison: Charlie McDowell (University of California-Santa Cruz)
NCWIT is seeking applications from young women for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing. Competition for the 2013-2014 Award is open to any U.S. high school-level female (grades 9-12). Applications will be accepted beginning September 15, 2013, and must be submitted online at www.aspirationsaward.org no later than 11:59 PM ET on October 31, 2013.
 NCWIT is looking for volunteers to help support the growing Aspirations in Computing program. Providing a robust local experience builds direct relationships for girls with the universities they might attend and the companies where they might intern or work — creating a clear career pathway in computing. Volunteers are needed nationwide and opportunities range from reviewing online applications to helping to organize an award ceremony. Whatever your skillset, we have a volunteer position for you! Help us to continue to grow the Aspirations in Computing program so that we can recruit more of these talented young ladies into computing!
For more information you can visit our website or contact us at [email protected].
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NCWIT Looks Forward to Seeing You at the Grace Hopper Celebration
NCWIT members and those interested in becoming a member are invited to attend the NCWIT Academic Alliance wine and cheese reception sponsored by Microsoft Research. Please join us Thursday, October 3, from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., at the Minneapolis Convention Center Room (MCC) 205 C-D, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In addition to the reception, NCWIT will also host a lounge at Hopper. We will have some public hours available so please feel free to stop by and recharge yourself and your device or have your photo taken in the red chair. Members of the NCWIT Recruitment & Engagement team will also be in the lounge demonstrating the new activity tool that was talked about at the Summit. Also, feel free to use this space to meet a colleague.
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Sit With Me
 Sit With Me is a national advocacy campaign designed to encourage women in computing careers. Sit With Me seeks to raise the visibility of technical women by providing a gathering place for people (men, women, technical, non-technical) to acknowledge the valuable contributions of women in computing. Over 1200 photos have been uploaded, 125 stories, and 130 chairs have been purchased.
You can request a traveling chair or purchase a chair at here. After you hold your event we encourage you up upload your story to sitwithme.org, and join the community of change leaders such as Shaquille O’Neal, Sheryl Sandberg, and Jean Sammet.
So take seat in our beautiful red chair to make a stand for women in IT!
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2014 NCWIT Summit
The annual NCWIT Summit will be held May 19-21, 2014 at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa in Newport Beach, California. The program Summit theme is “Enough about the problem, let’s get busy!” To view the continually updated Summit 2014 agenda and list of speakers, along with other information, click here.
Thank you to many of you for the timely feedback from the Summit 2013. We will certainly use it to plan our 2014 Summit.
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Academic Alliance (AA) Meetings at NCWIT Summit 2013
AA members were able to breakout out for six hours over two days in separate meetings with their peers. The AA meetings at the NCWIT Summit included the “Taking Action” panel of AA members who shared what they’ve done at their institutions to promote change followed by the Recruitment and Engagement team led session where more than 120 AA members networked with peers and completed an activity worksheet agreeing to take action at the local level. Thanks to input by members and the work of the Recruitment & Engagement project team, the online version of the activity worksheet will soon be rolled out to members!
The Birds of a Feather session also received high marks from AA attendees. On the first day of the Summit, AA members suggested topics and on the second day, they were able to break-out in a networking session with peers that had the same topic interest.
Attending members also enjoyed the individual walk thru of NCWIT resources by NCWIT’s internal evaluator, Wendy DuBow. They also benefited from NCWIT’s external evaluator, Elizabeth Litzler’s enrollment data presentation and NCWIT’s Director of Research and Consulting, Leisa Thompson, sneak peak at the enrollment tracking tool that will soon be available to members!
No NCWIT Academic Alliance meeting would be complete without hearing from our Seed Fund and Undergraduate Faculty Mentoring Award winners. Their excitement and passion are certainly contagious! We are continually grateful to our sponsors AT&T, Microsoft Research, and Symantec for providing funds to assist members expand their passion.
We had 175 attendees from the AA representing 126 different schools attend the NCWIT 2013 Summit in Tucson, AZ. The AA would like to thank all of our attendees for making the effort to come to the 2013 May NCWIT Summit, whether your distance was long or short!
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Academic Alliance (AA) Goal Tracking System
The Academic Alliance will soon launch the Goal Tracking System onto the NCWIT website. Not only will the Goal Tracking System allow Academic Alliance members to track goal(s) related to the NCWIT’s mission, it also allows them to take an active part in their Academic Alliance membership. Please stay tuned for more information.
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AA Co-Chair and Project Team Leader Changes
According to the AA Bylaws, we will have one Co-Chair replaced each year to maintain continuity of leadership. This year, Christine Alvarado (University of California-Santa Cruz) rotated off as AA Co-Chair and Patricia Morreale (Kean University) joined Margaret Burnett (Oregon State University) and Charlie McDowell (University of California-Santa Cruz) as Co-Chair of the AA. We thank Christine for all her help and are excited that she will continue to participate in the AA leadership through the AA Advisory Committee that includes all previous AA Co-Chairs. We look forward to working with Pat in her new leadership role in the AA.
Some of the project team co-leaders have also ended their term on their team and the recent AA survey asked for future project volunteers. Continue to watch as these teams become populated and work with the NCWT AA leadership on your behalf. Please take a look at our website to see the members that are working extra hard for the AA! http://www.ncwit.org/alliances/projects/45
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AA Project Team Updates (that were not already mentioned above).
These team members were also busy working to represent you in the NCWIT AA. They have outlined what they have accomplished or hope to accomplish on your behalf.
Best Practices in Undergraduate Research
Project Team Leader: Felicia Doswell (Norfolk State University)
Co-Chair Liaison: Margaret Burnett (Oregon State University)
 The Best Practices in Undergraduate Research (BPUR) project is focused on identifying and sharing best practices in undergraduate research. BPUR is a collaborative project of the CRA committee on Education (CRA-E) that includes representatives from the NCWIT AA, the CRA Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W), and the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC). The team is working with the CRA Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) data buddies project to identify best practices for conducting undergraduate research (both individual and group) in computing and impacts such programs have on their participants. The data buddies project conducts surveys and analysis of students and faculty in computing from a large number of different types of institutions. In order to share best practices, the team is developing a website for faculty research mentors that offer advice and resources on running an undergraduate research program, funding opportunities to support undergraduate research, and other related items. This site will be developed with CRA IT staff and hosted on the CRA server. It will be analogous to the CCC’s CS URGE website but intended for faculty rather than students. It will include pointers to and additional material relevant to the NCWIT REU-in-a-Box resource. The goal is to launch the site by Fall 2013.
Community College Outreach
Project Team Co-Leaders: Lennie Cooper (Miami Dade College), Kate Lockwood (California State University), Lisa Sandoval (Seattle Central Community College)
Co-Chair Liaison: Pat Morreale (Kean University)
The NCWIT Community College Outreach (CCO) has finished its second year as part of the AA project teams. Last year’s work culminated at the annual NCWIT Summit, where we gathered community college and university representatives from across the country to participate in dialogue concerning challenges facing community colleges and women pursuing STEM and IT careers at the 2-year institutions. Through a series of meetings, we identified several common themes and brainstormed action items to address these challenges. We are working together to now produce a summary of recommendations to NCWIT that may be used in further research and the pursuit of funding to further the work in this area.
Prior to the summit, we had project teams look at the top three concerns and challenges facing community colleges. Each team was assigned one of the challenges and they included ‘Funding for faculty and women at the community college level,’ ‘Identifying best practices at NCWIT to adapt to community colleges,’ and ‘Entry level IT jobs for women completing their 2-year degrees.’
Creating and Supporting Student Organizations that Promote Women in Computing
Project Team Co-Leaders: Laura Dillon (Michigan State University), Ambareen Siraj (Tennessee Technical University)
Project Team Members: Yolanda Anderson (Elizabeth City State University), Bettina Bair (Ohio State University), Lynda Louis (Dillard University)
Co-Chair Liaison: Margaret Burnett (Oregon State University)
 The CSSO team rolled out a new resource at the 2013 NCWIT Summit in Tucson: “How to Create and Sustain a Women in Computing Group on Your Campus” outlines steps to get a group started and build its structure, the importance of maintaining an open and public presence, possible activities, ways to build membership, and the value of affiliating with other groups.
To complement this resource, the CSSO team is now working with the ACM Committee on Women (ACM-W) to create a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) website in support of Women in Computing campus groups. The website will provide concrete details about steps outlined in the CSSO How-To resource and provide sample materials for implementing each step. Leaders of WIC campus groups will also be able to post ideas and questions of their own on the CSSO DIY website.
If you are interested in contributing ideas or reviewing material for the website, please send email to the team co-leaders: [email protected], [email protected].
Recruitment and Engagement (R&E)
Project Co-Leaders: Kiranmai Bellam (Prairie View A&M University), Doug Blank (Bryn Mawr College), Amy Csizmar Dalal (Carleton College)
Co-Chair Liaison: Pat Morreale (Kean University)
Our goal last year was goals — specifically, helping our members conceive, plan, and execute activities aimed at broadening participation in computing. We previewed NCWIT’s new online activities tracking tool at the 2013 Summit, and over 120 members submitted activities worksheets during that session. These activities will be used to seed the system once it goes live. We appreciate the enthusiastic participation in our summit meeting activity and look forward to the full rollout of the system to the Academic Alliance. Stay tuned for that!
In 2013-14, we plan to focus on ways to help member institutions better utilize this system, not only to keep track of activities and goals but also to find institutions with similar activities and programs and to get and share ideas for activities. If you have ideas or suggestions, please let us know. And as always, if you’re at Grace Hopper or SIGCSE, look for us at the AA receptions there!
Sharing Practices
Project Co-Leaders: Jennifer Goodall (University of Albany-SUNY), Sharon Mason (Rochester Institute of Technology), Monisha Pulimood (College of New Jersey)
Co-Chair Liaison: Charlie McDowell (University of California-Santa Cruz)
The Sharing Practices team led the Birds of a Feather session at the May Summit. Academic Alliance members identified topics that were of the most interest to them. The topics were consolidated and members gathered for open discussion that led to good conversation, brainstorming, sharing of ideas and connections between Alliance members. BoF topics included:
- Finding Recurring Funding for the Grace Hopper Conference
- Mobilizing Colleagues in Other Disciplines to Promote Computing
- Promoting Women in Technology in Liberal Arts Colleges /Small Colleges Consortium
- Roadshows/Outreach and Sustainability
- Spatial Learning Skills
- Attractive Projects for Undecided Freshmen Women
- Community College Outreach
- NCWIT Counselors for Computing
- Creating and Supporting Student Organizations that Promote Women in Computing
- NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award
- Aspirations Affiliates and Scholarships
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NCWIT Resources
NCWIT Social Scientists work hard to create resources that are based in evidence and easy-to-use. Our new website makes them even easier to find, so we hope you’ve visited the site recently as there are an incredible number of resources created to help make your job easier.
www.ncwit.org/resources
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Have a terrific Fall 2013 semester!
Academic Alliance Co-Chairs:
Margaret Burnett, Oregon State University School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department
Charlie McDowell, UC-Santa Cruz Computer Science Department
Patricia Morreale, Kean University Department of Computer Science
[email protected], AA Program Manager
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
University of Colorado-Boulder, 1125 18th Street, Boulder, CO 80309 |
