BRAID Initiative

BRAID Initiative BRAID Initiative 2015-2016 The 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) will be held in Phoenix, AZ. This offers a unique opportunity for CSE to leverage place and build momentum for recruitment and retention of women in computing. In preparation for this event CIDSE joined GHC in 2013 as a Silver Sponsor and is doing so again this year. While attendance in Minneapolis in 2013 was restricted to a few faculty and graduate students the intent is to have a significant presence at the Phoenix conference. We hope to use this as a springboard to a more comprehensive, on-going recruitment program. Specifically, under the direction of School Director Ron Askin and in cooperation with BRAID, CSE intends to undertake the following activities in support of BRAID for the next three years: 1. Continue to participate as a Silver Sponsor for the GHC and participate by having an information booth staffed with faculty, students and staff; 2. Provide financial support for up to 100 female students for conference registration and travel including specific invitations to incoming freshman women to attend the event; 3. Prepare and distribute to local high schools promotional materials detailing the history and opportunity for women in computing along with an offer to have our Engineering Ambassadors visit schools to speak with students and teachers; 4. Provide financial support for biweekly meetings of female faculty and students under the auspices of the Women in Computer Science club; 5. Develop a mentor program for Freshmen women in CSE with one-to-one meetings on a monthly basis and tracking of performance by our Advising Center for the purpose of identifying and resolving any concerns or problems; 6. Offer a two-week girls only summer Apps camp session for high school girls and perform a market survey to see if there is sufficient support for other girls-only summer camps among the set of Apps, Gaming and Robotics camps offered by CIDSE; 7. Conduct a study and student survey regarding the current first year coursework and experience of female students to ascertain changes that could be made to improve the student experience and ensure there are no gender barriers; and 8. Continue to host the annual NCWIT regional dinner and award ceremony with each participant being offered a personal tour and mentor in CSE. In addition to the support of the School Director for these activities, the CSE Program Chair Sandeep Gupta will help oversee and coordinate activities. Directly involved will be several members of the faculty including Faye Navabi, Mutsumi Nakamura and Carole-Jean Wu and our undergraduate Advising Manager Allison Farina. The CIDSE Advising Office will be responsible for tracking enrollment and retention data trends as well as surveying students. BRAID Initiative 2018-2019 Recruiting Plan: 1. Continue to participate as a Silver Sponsor for the GHC and participate by having an information booth staffed with faculty, students and staff; 2. Provide financial support for up to 100 female students for conference registration and travel including specific invitations to incoming freshman women to attend the event; 3. Prepare and distribute to local high schools promotional materials detailing the history and opportunity for women in computing along with an offer to have our Engineering Ambassadors visit schools to speak with students and teachers; 4. Provide financial support for biweekly meetings of female faculty and students under the auspices of the Women in Computer Science club; 5. Develop a mentor program for Freshmen women in CSE with one-to-one meetings on a monthly basis and tracking of performance by our Advising Center for the purpose of identifying and resolving any concerns or problems; 6. Offer a two-week girls only summer Apps camp session for high school girls and perform a market survey to see if there is sufficient support for other girls-only summer camps among the set of Apps, Gaming and Robotics camps offered by CIDSE; 7. Conduct a study and student survey regarding the current first year coursework and experience of female students to ascertain changes that could be made to improve the student experience and ensure there are no gender barriers; and 8. Continue to host the annual NCWIT regional dinner and award ceremony with each participant being offered a personal tour and mentor in CSE. In addition to the support of the School Director for these activities, directly involved will be several members of the faculty including Faye Navabi and Sharon Hsiao. The CIDSE Advising Office will be responsible for tracking enrollment and retention data trends as well as surveying students. BRAID Initiative 2019-2020 DearBRAIDChairs,Wearehappytoannouncethatyoucaneachexpecttoreceive$30,000ofBRAIDfundingfor2019,year5oftheBRAIDinitiative.Intel,Qualcomm,andMicrosoftareamongthecurrentandanticipatedfundersthisyear.AnitaB.orgwillbesendingthecheckstoeachofyoubyMay3,2019,uponcompletionofthe2018DepartmentalSurvey.TheDepartmentalSurveywillbedisseminatedtheweekofMarch11.Asareminder,youwillhavetheflexibilitytospendBRAIDfundsinawaythatmakesmostsensegivenyourdepartmentsbudgetandthecurrentsetofBRAID-relatedinitiativesbeingimplemented. BRAID Initiative 2020-2021 Enclosed is a check for the amount of $30,000 to be paid to Arizona State University as funding in support of BRAID Initiative efforts. On behalf of (AnitaB.org), this money is given as unrestricted funds to support the work as outlined as part of BRAIDs mission: 1. Modifying introductory courses to make them more attractive and less intimidating to underrepresented students. 2. Leading outreach programs for high school teachers and students. 3. Building confidence and community among underrepresented students. 4. Developing and/or promoting joint majors in areas like CS and Biology that are attractive to underrepresented students. The funds are for the exclusive purpose of supporting efforts to attract and retain female and underrepresented minority students of computer science for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. As per AnitaB.orgs policy, gifts are given with zero over-head and thus, the full amount of $30,000 should be used to fund efforts related to the BRAID Initiative.