This project addresses the need to increase participation of computer science faculty from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in computing research, particularly within the NSF CISE core programs. Since 2012, the NSF has increased its efforts to broaden participation in computing (BPC) with a commitment to “…ensure a robust computing research community, a globally competitive IT workforce, and a computationally savvy citizenry, CISE is committed to broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in computing.†More recently, NSF’s commitment to BPC has included efforts to increase the number of faculty from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) conducting basic or fundamental research in the NSF CISE core programs, which includes – Computer and Network Systems (CNS), Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF), Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) divisions and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC). Despite the commitment, however, the persistently low participation of HBCU faculty conducting research in the CISE core programs has had a significant and detrimental impact on achieving the NSF’s BPC goals. Therefore, efforts to build capacity for research in computing across the HBCU landscape are critical to achieve the mission and goals of BPC. The goal of this project is threefold: 1) to increase number of faculty conducting research that is aligned and funded within the NSF CISE core program portfolio, 2) to expand a network of HBCU CS faculty in a Center for Excellence; and, 3) to expand access to research activities for HBCU undergraduates who are preparing to pursue graduate degrees in computing.
To achieve these goals, the project will leverage and expand the efforts initiated by Hampton University by hosting two workshops. In addition to those HBCU CS faculty who participated in workshops hosted by Hampton University last year, the project team will identify additional faculty who are interested in developing ideas and concepts for research in computing and data science. Over the course of the two workshops, the project team will work with faculty to further develop their proposal ideas in preparation for a larger meeting that will be hosted by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). During the ASEE meeting, currently planned for the Spring of 2021, HBCU CS faculty will be joined by their colleagues and peers from Hispanic Serving Institutions and Native American and Tribal Colleges and will have a chance to get critical review and feedback on their proposals while preparing them for immediate submission.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
