Janet Davis

Associate Professor of Computer Science and Microsoft Chair of Computer Science, Whitman College

Janet Davis earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington in 2006 and 2001 respectively, and her B.S. in Computer Science at Harvey Mudd College in 1999. Her current research concerns the value sensitive design of persuasive technology to influence language use, particularly with respect to gender. She serves as founding chair of the Computer Science Department at Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Washington.

Dr. Davis has been a vocal advocate for CS faculty careers at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) since she started her first faculty position at Grinnell College in 2006. She has organized and participated in many panels on teaching-oriented CS faculty careers; she has also published two conference papers, in 2006 and 2021, and a 2019 CACM blog post. She is the author of the 2019 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 ways to welcome women to computer science. She is a regular contributor to the SIGCSE Annual Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education.