Ying Wu College of Computing Professor Has a Mission to LEVEL UP Inclusive Computing Education
Professor Jim Geller, chair of the department of Data Science, attended a January conference hosted by the Computing Research Initiative’s (CRA) LEVEL UP program, whose mission is to build a nation-wide consensus of best practices among computing departments to increase diversity through inclusive recruitment and course offerings. CRA leads the effort in collaboration with the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), IEEE Computer Society and National Science Foundation (NSF), along with diversity-focused organizations such as the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), Institute of African-American Mentoring in Computing Sciences, and National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), among others.
Geller has championed diversity and equity in STEM education since 2014, with a particular focus on increasing opportunities for women in computing. He is faculty advisor for the NJIT chapters of WICS (Women in Computing) and G-WICS (Graduate Women in Computing), and a founding participant in the BRAID (Building, Recruiting, and Inclusion for Diversity) Consortium of Harvey Mudd College, which provided financial support for his efforts for six years.
“To me it is an issue of social justice to give women better educational and employment opportunities in a subject area with well-paying jobs. But there are many widely accepted objective benefits of gender diversity for everybody. It just does not make sense to design consumer products without involvement of women – 51% of potential customers. There is evidence that diverse teams create better products. Statistically, more purchasing decisions are made by women than by men, thus they should be involved in the whole development life cycle – for which they need the appropriate education. Women can fill job openings in the computing industry where the supply of jobs exceeds the demand. In short there are many upsides to a better educated female workforce,” he said.
The challenge of increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM fields extends beyond generating greater interest and enrollment for historically underserved audiences: it is also about keeping them.
Geller, additionally, represents NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing as part of a 5 million NSF program Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant, split between five New Jersey institutions. NJIT’s award allocation is $1.38 million and supports 12 annual $10,000 scholarships over a three-year period to high-performing students in financial need who may otherwise face early withdrawal prior to degree completion.
Geller envisions/hopes to achieve gender parity at YWCC, but he concedes that it has been an uphill battle. “BRAID has shown us that a little bit of money goes a long way in supporting diversity, and more such initiatives are sorely needed.”