The National Science Foundation has awarded Clemson University with a $5 million grant.

The money will be used to launch an initiative aimed at increasing black participation in computer science.

 

Serving as a national resource, with an emphasis in mentoring, Clemson University will use the grant to launch the Institute for African American Mentoring in Computing Sciences.

 

“African-Americans represent about 1 percent of the computer science faculty and researchers in the U.S.,” said Juan Gilbert, chairman of the Human-Centered Division at Clemson, in a written statement. “We formed this institute to increase the number of underrepresented groups earning computing science doctoral degrees and researchers in the academy, government and private sector.”

 

The institute will aim to increase the number of African American doctoral graduates who enter the workforce with a research focus and develop the future African American leaders with computing expertise in the academy, government and industry.

 

In collaboration with its partners, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Carnegie Mellon University, Rice University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Winston-Salem State University, Clemson will extend the work of current NSF alliances and demonstration projects that utilize different strategies towards broadening the participation of African-Americans in computing sciences.

 

Read more at the Loop 21.

 

This is a great idea, and we hope it yields an increase in black students studying in computer science.

What other ways can we increase the presence of blacks in technological fields?

Sound off below!!!!