Communications of the ACM
Critical Mass
Many African-American students and professors are drawn to Clemson University because of the Human-Centered Computing program, which takes a hands-on, applied approach to computer science.
Credit: Inside Higher Ed
Clemson University employs six African-American tenure-track or tenured computer science professors, which comprises 10 percent of the total number of black computer science professors nationwide. In addition, Clemson's doctoral students account for 10 percent of African-American computer science Ph.D. candidates nationwide, according to the Computer Research Association.
Clemson's success can be attributed to professor Juan Gilbert, who heads the Human-Centered Computing division, and has worked with the administration to create an environment that attracts minority computer scientists. Gilbert says many African-American students and professors are drawn to Clemson because of the Human-Centered Computing program, which takes a hands-on, applied approach to computer science. "Research shows women and minorities tend to be attracted to the helping professions, areas where clearly what you do helps someone and gives back," he notes. "We have that in Human-Centered Computing." Gilbert regularly gives presentations at high schools and colleges, particularly historically black colleges and universities, to expose students to career possibilities in computer science and to show them the value of graduate school.
"Clemson provides excellent role modeling, having the opportunity for students who imagine themselves in those careers able to be validated," says Institute for Broadening Participation executive director Ashanti Johnson.
From Inside Higher Ed
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