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SCS DEI Update #6

Dec. 18, 2020

As this semester’s activity winds down toward winter break, we offer a final update of 2020. We hope you have a safe, happy and restful holiday break. We have a lot of work to do in the new year, and I look forward to continued progress. Thanks again to our students, staff and faculty for your help making the SCS community more welcoming, diverse and inclusive.

Recruiting Events

• Departmental DEI Recruiting Events
  • The Computer Science Department held an REU information session for the computer science students at Spelman College as part of CSD’s greater efforts to forge a stronger relationship with the HBCU. Four computer science students attended the session, which may seem like a small number, but represents approximately 30-40% of the graduating computer science majors at Spelman, so the numbers are commensurate with expectations. We will continue to look for applicants in both graduate and REU programs to see if there are any applications we should shepherd in the process.

DEI Scholarship Funds

• In addition to the new fellowship and REU Funds detailed in the last update, the SCS advancement team has established a more general fund for school-wide DEI activities. This fund mainly will be administered by the associate sean for DEI when that position is filled. If you have questions about either this fund or those mentioned in the previous update, contact Jenny Belardi.

REU Supplement Programs

Reminder: As part of NSF grant submissions, applications for REU supplements opened Dec. 1. We sent messages to all faculty detailing the importance of these supplements and provided guidance on using these supplemental funds to help broaden our Ph.D. demographics. Claire Le Goues and Josh Sunshine have written FAQs, and provided a sample budget, budget justifications and project descriptions, available in this REUSE Supplement Guide.

Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion: Tartan Allies

The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion will host Tartan Allies sessions for CMU faculty, staff and students to foster a network of people committed to working toward an affirming environment for all. The focus is on being an ally to those in the LGBTQ+ community. Tartan Allies is comprised of three progressive sessions, with participants free to choose the number they wish to complete. As the name suggests, being an ally is not a passive behavior. Good and effective allies listen, learn and act. Join us for Tartan Allies sessions if you are interested in becoming a part of this inclusive and supportive community.

• Register for Session 1 on January 15 from 1-3 p.m.
• Register for Session 1 on February 18 from 2-4 p.m.
• Register for Session 1 on March 26 from 2-4 p.m.

SCS DEI Seminar Series

Brad Myers, who has coordinated a diverse and exciting HCII seminar series for the spring, has stepped up to lead the efforts for an SCS-wide seminar series focusing on issues such as diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, bias, access and ethics in computer science. We are still interested in new ideas and speakers! You can submit names of potential speakers or volunteer to help.

From the Ph.D. Student Dean's Advisory Committee 

• Being inclusive of students, faculty and staff from underrepresented groups takes changing our culture. The Ph.D. Advisory Committee is asking for ombudspeople for each department with formalized duties to handle reports of bias and abuse.

Personal Story

In each update, we will post a submitted story that illustrates an important DEI-related challenge. (Submit your story on this Google form.) "I've seen and personally experienced multiple instances of bias in SCS, particularly racist and sexist remarks and actions. I firmly believe that is the responsibility of SCS to recognize that these issues exist and take action to provide a more inclusive environment." — Ph.D. Student

Related Reading: This week, through the lens of one graduate student’s experience at ETH Zurich, we want to provide a short reading that touches on the need for academics to speak up and report when they see instances of racism, sexism and other forms of prejudice.

DEI Progress Tracker

If you'd like to receive updates and calls to action on DEI from the Ph.D. Advisory Committee, sign up for our mailing list.

The SCS Ph.D. Advisory Committee is maintaining an SCS DEI progress tracker to map progress relative to the Towards Anti-Racist Change letter. To date, four items have been completed, five are on track, 23 have been started and 18 remain.