HBCU Computer Science Workshop

Hampton University, Hampton VA

Investigators

Abstract

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is committed to broadening the participation of underrepresented populations in computing and closely-related disciplines. Indeed, CISE strongly encourages meaningful actions that address the longstanding underrepresentation of various populations including women, minorities (African Americans/Blacks, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, and persons from economically disadvantaged backgrounds), and persons with disabilities, in the computing field. Unfortunately, only a few (or no) historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have participated in proposal submission/awardees to broadening participation in computing since 2012. Even though there are newer NSF programs, such as Computing Education for 21st Century (CE21) along with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics-Computing (STEM-C) Partnerships, there are still few proposals submitted by and awarded to HBCUs. This workshop will enable HBCU computer science/computing faculty to collaborate and address the needs associated with broadening participation and create cross-institutional strategies to increase research outcomes. Workshop participants will engage in post-workshop meetings at CS conferences and virtually to increase the level of accountability associated with NSF grantsmanship. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.