CRA-WP Welcomes Susan Rodger as Co-chair


CRA-WP welcomes Susan Rodger as its newest co-chair, replacing Sandhya Dwarkadas. Rodger joins Amanda Stent as co-chair of the committee. Stent will replace Dwarkadas as the CRA-WP representative on the CRA Board. We would like to thank Dwarkadas for her service as co-chair.


Susan Rodger
Susan Rodger is a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Computer Science at Duke University. She was previously an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Rodger received her MS and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University and her BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from North Carolina State University. Her research is in visualization, algorithm animation, and computer science education. Rodger has developed JFLAP, software for experimenting with formal languages and automata that is used in courses worldwide. She leads the Adventures in Alice Programming project to teach K-12 teachers about computing. She has organized three Alice Symposiums and over thirty workshops on Alice, JFLAP, Peer-led Team learning, career mentoring, and other computer science education topics. Rodger is currently chair of ACM SIGCSE, a board member of CRA-W, and a member of the ACM Education Policy Committee. Rodger received the ACM 2013 Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award, the ACM Distinguished Educator award, and she was one of two finalist candidates for the NEEDS Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware for the software JFLAP.

CRA-WP Board Welcomes New Board Member: Sujata Banerjee


CRA-WP recently welcomed Sujata Banerjee as a new member to its board of directors.

Banerjee is the Vice President of VMware Research Group. Her expertise is in topics related to software defined networking and network functions virtualization, and she is broadly interested in network automation and performance. Prior to joining VMware, she was a distinguished technologist and research director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Labs, leading a network systems research group which conducted research on enterprise, service provider and datacenter networks. Prior to her industrial research career, Banerjee also held a tenured Associate Professor position at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a member of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Council of the Computing Research Association (CRA). Banerjee was honored to be named in the list of 2018 N2Women: Stars in Computer Networking and Communications.

CSGrad4US Fellowship Applications Open in Early Summer 2023


With layoffs and the uncertainty of hiring in the tech sector, the Computing Research Association has a unique opportunity to take advantage of! 

The National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (CSGrad4US Fellowship) and the associated CRA CSGrad4US Mentoring Program help tech professionals make the switch from industry to research and graduate school. The mentoring program provides guidance, mentoring, and coaching through the PhD application and decision-making  process. After acceptance and enrollment into a PhD program in a Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) field, the 3-year CSGrad4US Fellowship provides a $34K stipend per year as well as provides tuition and fees directly to the institution where the fellow enrolls as they work towards a PhD in a CISE discipline department in the U.S. 

For Fall 2024 PhD admissions, CSGrad4US Fellowship applications open in Early Summer 2023. Please complete this form to be notified when fellowship applications open: https://forms.gle/fBuiVQQW64ThPDHL6

For more information about the program: https://cra.org/csgrad4us/

CRA-WP 2023 Grad Cohort Workshops – Applications Due November 30


CRA-WP will host two Graduate Cohort Workshops in 2023! The Grad Cohort Workshop for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills (GC-IDEALS) is designed specifically for graduate school populations underrepresented in computing research. The Grad Cohort Workshop for Women is designed for women students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school in computing fields. Grad Cohort participants will have an opportunity to build mentoring relationships and develop peer networks intended to form the basis for ongoing activities during their graduate career and beyond.

Grad Cohort participants will have an opportunity to build mentoring relationships and develop peer networks intended to form the basis for ongoing activities during their graduate career and beyond.

CRA and CRA-WP Welcome Lauren Lashlee


CRA has recently hired Lauren Lashlee as a program associate for the Widening Participation (CRA-WP) committee. In this role, she supports CRA-WP programs that focus on increasing the success and participation of underrepresented groups in computing research.

Lauren was raised Savannah, GA. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with an endorsement in K-12 English as a Second Oral Language. Before joining CRA, Lauren was an educator for six years in Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools. She enjoys cooking, painting, and physical activities.

Call for Coaches for the CSGrad4US Mentoring Program


Are you interested in mentoring prospective graduate students through the application and reentry process?

The coach application is now available on the CSGrad4US Mentoring Program webpage. The goals of the CSGrad4US Mentoring Program are:

  • To guide returning students through the application process towards a successful CS PhD admission and school selection
  • To mentor them through the transition to PhD graduate study in the first year towards high retention.

Specific topics include the admissions process, preparation of all components of a strong graduate application, differences between graduate programs at different institutions, how to compare programs with respect to the Fellow’s goals and background, and general guidelines on making a selection among admission acceptances.

Access the coach application here. Applications received by July 1st will be given preference.
For questions regarding eligibility, please email csgrad4us@cra.org.

CSGrad4US: Second Year Call for NSF Fellowship Opportunity for CS Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Holders to Return for PhD – Deadline Extended to June 30


The National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate has announced the second year of the CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship program. NSF seeks candidates from a broad array of backgrounds and strongly encourages women, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities to apply.

Benefits

  • A year-long preparation program, organized by CRA-E and CRA-WP, in which individuals selected for the Fellowship will receive mentoring support in identifying a graduate program, finding a research mentor, and applying to graduate programs; during this year, the individuals will also have opportunities to form a network with one another and with faculty advisors;
  • For those who enroll in an accredited doctoral degree-granting program at an institution of higher education having a campus located in the United States, its territories or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an annual stipend of $34,000 for three years out of five; and
  • Cost-of-education allowance of $12,000 per year for the three years noted above to the institution of higher education.

Timeline and Eligibility
The 2022 solicitation has expanded the eligibility rules. In particular, applicants must have graduated with a bachelor’s degree in a CISE field before June 30, 2021, and can have received an MS degree.  Applications for the CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship are due June 30, 2022.

Please visit https://www.nsf.gov/cise/CSGrad4US/ for all eligibility criteria and additional details and deadlines.

CRA Opportunity Board


Last year the Computing Research Association (CRA) launched an Opportunity Board to enable recent new PhD graduates and members of the community that are looking for postdocs to connect. This is a continuation of the Opportunity Board used to match potential postdocs and mentors during the CIFellows 2021 process. The board allows for the posting of postdoc opportunities by potential mentors and posts by those looking for a postdoc opportunity. We encourage members of the community to use this as a resource.

The Opportunity Board lists four options:

  • Find Mentor
  • Find Postdoc
  • Post Mentor Profile
  • Post Postdoc Profile

You are able to search for potential postdocs and available postdoc positions by research area. This board is monitored by CRA, but we will not endorse any posts or make any recommendations. Posts will remain for six months before being removed. If you find a match, please remove your profile from the Opportunity Board. You can view the board here.

Expanding the Pipeline: The Context, Importance, and Experience of Writing Departmental BPC Plans


By Dorian Arnold, Manuel Pérez Quiñones, Michelle Rogers, and Burçin Tamer

Broadening participation should be one of the higher priorities in all computing programs in the US. Efforts to increase participation from minoritized communities has been going on in earnest for over a decade. Unfortunately, we have yet to expand the group of faculty and staff engaged in these activities and have only made a marginal difference in who is studying computing. In this article, we will focus on BPC Plans as an attempt to supplement and scale-up the computing community’s efforts to address the issue of lack of diversity in computing.

This article will describe what BPC Plans are; outline the background/context of the BPC Plan initiative; identify why BPC Plans are important; provide an overview of BPC Plan development from the perspective of a department that has developed a verified Departmental BPC Plan (Emory University Department of Computer Science); and conclude with some pointers to resources for getting started with your Departmental BPC Plan.

Former CRA-WP Board Member Carla Brodley Receives the 2021 ACM Frances E. Allen Award for Outstanding Mentoring


ACM has named Carla E. Brodley the recipient of the inaugural ACM Frances E. Allen Award for Outstanding Mentoring. She is recognized for significant personal mentorship and leadership in creating systemic programs that have increased diversity in computer science by creating mentoring opportunities for thousands at Northeastern and other universities across the United States. Brodley is a member of the CRA Board and former member of the CRA-WP Board.