NCWIT Academic Alliance (AA) Newsletter: September 2017

 

View this email in your browser

NCWIT Academic Alliance Newsletter

September 2017

Welcome to the 2017-2018 academic year; we hope you are energized to begin another year with the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Academic Alliance (AA). Please peruse this NCWIT AA newsletter to get updates on opportunities available to you and other news you will want to know.

To learn more about the AA, visit www.ncwit.org/aa. Encourage your peers to join by directing them to our online form: https://ncwit.org/aamembershipform. Membership is free!

Contents

Did you complete your NCWIT AA Member Survey?

While membership in the AA is free for institutions, it requires the participation of individuals. If you’ve been wondering how you can be more involved in our community, simply click the unique survey link that was sent to you on August 25, 2017 (with reminders sent on September 7 and September 21) from [email protected] to see which opportunities might best suit your skills. Thank you in advance for your help!

BACK TO TOP

AA Faculty Opportunities

We hope that you find your membership in NCWIT beneficial to both you and your institution. NCWIT has several award opportunities (both for faculty and students—please pass these on) currently open to our members. Consider submitting a short nomination or proposal for at least one of these opportunities or passing along the information to the relevant person(s) or group.

Not sure if you or your organization is a member of the NCWIT Academic Alliance? Check our list of members: http://www.ncwit.org/AAmembers. Want to become a member (at no cost)? Complete this short request for membership.

BACK TO TOP

2018 NCWIT AA Seed Fund: Call for Proposals (Deadline: October 30, 2017)

NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund

The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund awards NCWIT Academic Alliance members at non-profit, U.S. institutions (excluding U.S. territories) with start-up funds (up to $10,000 per project) to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting or retaining women in computing and IT. To date, 51 member organizations have received a total of $585,450 to grow their technology-related outreach program. We thank Microsoft Research for their support of the Seed Fund.

This year’s call for proposals focuses on using existing, effective promising practices for recruiting and retaining women and underrepresented populations into your computing-related majors. Proposals will be accepted through midnight MDT on October 30, 2017. Winners will be announced in March 2018, and each winning group will be reimbursed for one person’s travel to the 2018 NCWIT Summit in May! Find out more information at www.ncwit.org/seedfund, and submit a proposal.

BACK TO TOP

2018 NCWIT AA Seed Fund: a special call for inclusive approaches to managing surging enrollments (Deadline: October 30, 2017)

NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund: a special call

NEW!! This NCWIT AA Seed Fund: a special call awards NCWIT AA members at non-profit, U.S. institutions with startup funds (up to $10,000) to support projects that develop and test approaches to increasing diversity of incoming computing students, despite the enrollment surge.

Proposals will be accepted through midnight MDT on October 30, 2017. Recipients will be announced in March 2018 and recognized at the 2018 NCWIT Summit in May. (Summit travel will be reimbursed for one principal investigator per project). Learn more at www.ncwit.org/SurgingSF, and submit a proposal.

BACK TO TOP

2018 NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring (URM) Award: Call for Nominations (Deadline: October 30, 2017)

NCWIT URM Award

The 2018 NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award (sponsored by AT&T) recognizes representatives of non-profit, U.S. institutions of the AA 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. Any faculty member of an AA member organization is eligible. Each recipient’s institution receives a $5,000 gift to support the recipient’s research.

Submit a short nomination form by midnight MT on October 30, 2017. You can nominate a colleague or yourself (a self-nomination is perfectly acceptable), and you can nominate more than one person. Winners will be notified in March 2018. To view previous winners and learn more about this award, visit www.ncwit.org/urmaward.

BACK TO TOP

2018 Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award: Call for Nominations (Deadline: October 30, 2017)

Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award

The NCWIT Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring (sponsored by the NCWIT Board of Directors) recognizes an AA member representative at non-profit, U.S. institution who combines outstanding research accomplishments with excellence in graduate mentoring, as well as those who advocate for recruiting, encouraging, and promoting women and minorities in computing fields. The recipient’s institution will receive a $5,000 gift from NCWIT and the winner will be reimbursed for their travel to the May NCWIT Summit. Find out more information at www.ncwit.org/harroldnotkin, and submit a nomination for a peer or yourself soon.

BACK TO TOP

Want to retain diverse students in your computing program? Pedagogy matters! Check out EngageCSEdu.

NCWIT EngageCSEdu

Find inspiration for your intro CS0, CS1, and CS2 courses! While preparing your courses this fall, don’t forget about EngageCSEdu — a comprehensive open source collection of introductory computer science course materials. All materials are peer-reviewed for quality and for effective use of at least one evidence-based “Engagement Practice:” teaching techniques to both improve instruction and retain students who have been traditionally underrepresented in computing. (EngageCSEdu is also another great way to access NCWIT (and other) resources via the Engagement Practices Framework.)

Get published in the collection! Submit your best intro course materials to the collection; CS0 materials are of particular interest. If submitted before January 15, 2018, and your materials are accepted, you’ll be eligible for the NCWIT EngageCSEdu Engagement Excellence Award.

Join our reviewer pool! The submission and review process works just like a peer-review journal — and it’s even easier to do with our new author and reviewer dashboard! Computer science educators and social/learning scientists are welcome to join the pool.

For more information on any of these opportunities, check out www.engage-csedu.org, or email [email protected].

BACK TO TOP

NCWIT AspireIT Opportunity

NCWIT AspireIT

AspireIT is a near-peer outreach program, allowing NCWIT high school and college Aspirations in Computing Community members to share their passion for CS programs with girls in grades K-12. Since 2013, NCWIT has gifted more than $800,000 to 300 programs, providing an estimated 240,000 instruction hours to nearly 8,000 girls in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can find out more at www.ncwit.org/aspireit.

The next funding round will open in February 2018, and we are always looking for:

  1. Partners to work with our community members as a Program Partner. This requires the non-profit entity to serve as the fiscal agent for the funds and mentor to helping the leader be successful.
  2. Volunteers to help us review the applications submitted for funding, providing your input on how to they can strengthen their implementations. It typically takes two to three hours of time.

If you are interested in either of the above opportunities, please email us at [email protected]. We will make sure you are added to a list to get specific information when those opportunities are again available.

BACK TO TOP

NCWIT Thank Your Boss Campaign

Did you submit your boss’s name in our Thank You Campaign? We would like to thank them for seeing the value in your extra-curricular participation in NCWIT by sending them some of our resources and a letter of thanks. Without passionate, change-leading members (such as yourself!), our efforts to work on reform for girls and women in computing wouldn’t be making the impact it is! Submit your form today.

BACK TO TOP

Student Opportunities (Please share!)

NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Opportunities

Aspirations in Computing

NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) offers opportunities for recognition and connection to female computing students at Academic Alliance member institutions. Here are five ways that YOU can attract and retain students in computing with NCWIT AiC:

  1. Encourage your female students to join the AiC Community of nearly 10,000 technical women. The Community serves as a long-term network of peers, mitigating isolation and providing access to hundreds of opportunities. ALL of your undergraduate and graduate female students majoring and minoring in computing-related fields are eligible to apply!
  2. Promote the NCWIT Collegiate Award. ALL of your undergraduate and graduate female students majoring and minoring in computing-related fields are eligible to apply! Recipients receive up to $10,000 in cash prizes, a trip to the NCWIT Summit, and other great prizes!
  3. Spread the word to all technical 9th-12th grade women, as well as the educators who support them, that applications for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing and the NCWIT Educator Award are open! Use our sample messaging ( http://bit.ly/17AiCAwardInfo) to share info with your networks.
  4. Be inspired by today’s women in technology and their educators by reviewing Award applications. Your knowledge and expertise is greatly needed and valued!
  5. Partner with an AiC Community member, and apply for an NCWIT AspireIT grant. Using a near-peer model, AspireIT teams teach K-12 girls fundamentals in programming and computational thinking in fun, creative environments.

Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions you have!

About Aspirations in Computing

NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) provides technical girls and women with ongoing engagement, visibility, and encouragement for their computing-related interests and achievements from high school through college and into the workforce. AiC Community members are supported by their peers, volunteers, and NCWIT Alliance member organizations who offer exclusive access to scholarships, internships, and professional work.

BACK TO TOP

Spread the NCWIT Word

NCWIT at the Grace Hopper Celebration

Once again, NCWIT will be at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing! NCWIT Alliance member representatives, and those interested in becoming a member representative, are invited to attend the NCWIT Alliance Member Reception on Thursday, October 5 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. EDT at the Rosen Centre in the Signature Room 2, which is connected to the Orange County Convention Center. Learn more, and RSVP at https://ghc17.eventbrite.com.

In addition to the reception, NCWIT is holding an Academic Corner session — “Best Practices for Recruiting Diverse Faculty” — on Wednesday, October 4 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. EDT in the Hyatt Windermere Ballroom Z.

And, we’ll also staff Booth #2906 at the GHC Career Fair. So, please stop by to say, “hello,” pick up some resources, and hear what’s new at NCWIT.

BACK TO TOP

Where do I find my organization at NCWIT?

The NCWIT Academic Alliance now has more than 500 member organizations with more than 1,700 individuals representing them. You can find them all listed alphabetically here. Take a look at yours and email [email protected] is you need any updates made.

Want to see a map of where AA member organization can be found? Check out our new map here and find your NCWIT neighbors!

BACK TO TOP

NCWIT Member Activity and Change Tracker Tool (ACT)

ACT

Have you ever achieved a goal you didn’t set first? Our members told us they wanted to be able to see what other members were doing. They wanted to find members they could collaborate with on papers and at conferences. They wanted to share cool things they’ve done with other peer members…

We created the Activity and Change Tracker Tool (ACT) to help with all of that, and now all we need to do is have you use it! NCWIT has committed to NSF that our members will state their goals so please submit and/or update yours!

BACK TO TOP

NCWIT Enrollment Data

Interested in evaluating your recruiting and retaining efforts? Want to see how your data compares to IPEDS, Taulbee, and other AA members in longitudinal trend charts? Submit your data to the NCWIT Tracking Tool, and you will be able to visualize all of this; and, you’ll be helping NCWIT at the same time!

NCWIT needs all Academic Alliance members to enter or update their enrollment data in the NCWIT Tracking Tool. Please take a few moments today to check out our information sheet and webpage and make a plan for collecting this data with the help of your department staff or Institutional Research unit on campus. This data is essential for NCWIT’s reporting to NSF, continuation of funding, and for evaluating our support of your efforts. We deeply value your commitment toward our mission of increasing the meaningful participation of women in technology.

BACK TO TOP

NCWIT Resources

NCWIT resources provide research- and theory-based practices and recommendations to equip change leaders to take action toward increasing women’s meaningful participation in technology. Our resources are free and available in digital and print formats. This year, we published some great new content, and updated some of our most sought-after materials. Check them out here! (Hint: All NCWIT Higher Education resources can be viewed here. And, additional filters can be found on the right side of the screen, such as “Goals” or “Resource Type.” We’ve also added a filter for resources most useful to Community College members.)

This year, NCWIT launched a new line of bias interruption resources. Check out Interrupting Bias in Academic Settings. Use this resource to help you practice ways to interrupt bias in real-life situations.

Do you want to recruit and retain more women in your undergraduate computing program? These NCWIT Extension Services workbooks will help you get started, or enhance efforts that are already underway! Hone in on strategies that give the greatest return on investment in the shortest time, while attracting the best students to your major. Choose research-based interventions for retention that improve the experiences of all students, not just women and minorities. Tailor your approach to your particular institutional context, and track and evaluate your results.

Extension Services

More information about NCWIT Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs can be found here.

Overwhelmed? Start with Explore NCWIT, by scrolling down on the NCWIT homepage. This feature asks visitors to respond to a couple of questions in order to provide the most relevant content, allowing easy access to alliances, programs, resources, and other useful information.

BACK TO TOP

Amigos de TECHNOLOchicas

On April 25, the TECHNOLOchicas came together with tech professionals, non-profit partners, and local students for a day of panel discussions, inspiring conversations, and hands-on learning activities at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California for the official launch of TECHNOLOchicas 2.0!

Know Latinas in technology in your campus who could be profiled as a TECHNOLOchicas Ambassador? Ask them to join here.

BACK TO TOP

NCWIT Summits

2018 NCWIT Summit (May)

The annual NCWIT Summit will be held May 15-17, 2018 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. Stay tuned for the agenda, speakers, and other information: www.ncwit.org/summit.

Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center,

Thanks to many of you for the timely feedback on the 2017 NCWIT Summit evaluation. We are already using it for our 2018 NCWIT Summit planning.

BACK TO TOP

AA Meeting at the 2017 NCWIT Summit

We enjoyed seeing more than 200 of our members at the NCWIT Summit AA meeting; we missed those of you that were not able to join and hope to see you at the 2018 Summit. Below is a wrap-up of what we covered.

This year we kicked off the Summit with all Alliance meetings. This allowed members to meet new members and connect with peers before adjourning to the reception. Our members told us last year that they wanted more networking time, so our meeting sure they had it! We started out at self-selected tables set up by institution type and had facilitator’s lead table discussions focused on successes, challenges, and aspirations.

After our break, we returned to our room and split ourselves into tables organized by regions. We then heard FlashTalks about regional collaboration from very brave members about what they are doing at their institutions to make change happen. We would like to thank Sharon Burlingame (Pellissippi State Community College), Cecily Heiner (Southern Utah University), Lakshmi Iyer (University of North Carolina-Greensboro), Pat Morreale (Kean University), and Melanie Williamson (Bluegrass Community and Technical College) for sharing those with us. Next, we had many table discussions with our neighboring peers and some even walked out of the meeting with newly formed collaborations. We wrapped up the session entering goals that we discussed during the day in the Activity and Change Tracker (ACT) tool, and we truly appreciate those of you that took the time to do so. If you didn’t do it yet, please take some time to review the ACT section of this newsletter and enter or update your goals. It’s very important to NSF that we our members are taking action and this is what we use to show them you are!

BACK TO TOP

AA Co-chair and Project Team Leader Changes

This year, Cheryl Calhoun (Santa Fe College) joined Robert Beck (Villanova University) and Maureen Doyle (Northern Kentucky University) as a Co-chair of the AA. Maureen Biggers (University of Indiana-Bloomington) rotated off as AA Co-chair, and we thank Maureen for all her help and are excited that she will continue to participate in the AA leadership through the AA Advisory Board, which includes all previous AA Co-chairs. We look forward to working with Cheryl in her new leadership role in the AA.

After we receive the AA Member Survey responses, we’ll have some new project teams and new faces on some of them. You should have received your unique survey link on August 19, and if you didn’t complete it, a reminder on September 7 and a reminder on September 21. We really count on our members to help so please look for the survey link from [email protected], and volunteer in one of the many areas we need your help.

AA Awardees Honored at the 2017 NCWIT Summit

2017 NCWIT AA Seed Fund Winners Announced!

2016-2017 Co-chairs: Robert Beck (Villanova University), Maureen Biggers (Indiana University), Maureen Doyle (Northern Kentucky University)

Our 2017 Seed Fund winners were notified in February 2017 and honored at the NCWIT Summit. Get inspired and submit your proposal by October 30, 2017; view details here.

  • Claflin University will host a four-week, full-day computer science summer program for 20 middle school girls, taught by one faculty mentor and three female computer science majors, with the long-term goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and female representation in computing. (Project Principal Investigator: Cheryl Swanier)
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University hosts a Community College Partnership Program, which has brought bachelor’s and master’s degrees to underrepresented students throughout New Jersey, making the transfer process seamless, as advisors from both institutions help students stay on track for associate and bachelor’s degrees. They plan to expand this process and bring computer science education within reach of women and minorities, who are vastly underrepresented in the U.S. computing workforce. (Project Principal Investigators: Laila Khreisat and Neelu Sinha)
  • Green River College will give computing students the opportunity to apply their technical skills toward building software for a non-profit organization, in order to increase the relevance of the material and, therefore, their commitment to the discipline. Green River will also provide an opportunity for collaboration and communication with other students, faculty, and a real-world customer. (Project Principal Investigator: Tina Ostrander)
  • University of North Carolina at Charlotte will start the Mobile Maker Space outreach program, designed to excite community college students’ interest in computing and recruit them into the CCI’s 2+3 degree pathway. (Project Principal Investigators: Manuel Perez Quinones, David Wilson, and Audrey Rorrer)
2017 NCWIT AA Seed Fund Winners

Congratulations to the 2017 Winners!
[Left to Right] Award Presenters: Lucy Sanders (NCWIT CEO and Co-founder) and Paige Williams (Microsoft Corporation Director of Global Readiness)
Award Winners: Cheryl Swanier (Claflin University), Neelu Sinha (Fairleigh Dickinson University), Tina Ostrander (Green River College), and Johanna Okerlund, Manuel Perez Quinones, and Audrey Rorrer (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

BACK TO TOP

2017 Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award Winner Announced!

2016-2017 Project Co-Leaders: Elizabeth Belding (University of California—Santa Barbara) and Carla Brodley (Northeastern University)

2016-2017 Project Team Members: Rick Adrion (University of Massachusetts—Amherst), Nancy Amato (Texas A&M University—College Station), Duncan Buell (University of South Carolina—Columbia), and William Griswold (University of California—San Diego)

2016-2017 Co-chair Liaison: Robert Beck (Villanova University)

The 2017 Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award recipient is Jennifer Rexford, Professor at Princeton University. Rexford is the Fourth recipient of this award, and she was honored at the 2017 NCWIT Summit. Be sure to nominate for the 2018 award by October 30, 2017—details can be found here.

2017 Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award Winner

NCWIT Co-founder, Robert Schnabel, presents the 2017 Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award to Jennifer Rexford at the 2017 NCWIT Summit.

BACK TO TOP

Reminder to Complete the AA Member Survey

This is another plea that we need volunteers to run the NCWIT AA and to complete the AA Member Survey no later than Monday, September 25 at midnight MDT. This will help us to continue our programs and keep the alliance fresh. You should have received a unique link via an email from [email protected] on August 25, and reminders on September 7 and September 21.

BACK TO TOP

 


Enjoy your 2017-2018 Academic Year; I’m sure your start is as busy as this newsletter suggests!

Academic Alliance Co-Chairs:
Robert Beck, Villanova University
Cheryl Calhoun, Santa Fe College
Maureen Doyle, Northern Kentucky University

AA Program Manager: Kim Kalahar
[email protected]
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
University of Colorado, Campus Box 417 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309

BACK TO TOP

 

NCWIT Partners
Copyright ©2017 National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), All rights reserved.
University of Colorado, Campus Box 417 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309
www.ncwit.org | [email protected] | 303.735.6671
 
No longer want to hear about NCWIT Alliances? Remove yourself from this list.
Unsubscribe from ALL NCWIT Newsletters by emailing us at [email protected].

 

Most Recent E-Newsletters

Scroll to Top