Equity & Justice in Computing: Jeffrey Forbes, "Exploring the National Science Foundation’s Work in Broadening Participation in Computing"

Abstract: The National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) seeks to address the longstanding underrepresentation of various populations — including women, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities — in computing. This need for inclusion is particularly pressing with the increasingly pervasive role of computing in our society and the importance of computing-related innovation driving our workforce and economic growth. As part of its strategy to address underrepresentation, CISE encourages principal investigators to develop and submit plans to detail how they will broaden participation in computing (BPC) as part of their CISE research projects. Through CISE's BPC programs, we seek to (1) significantly improve the participation and outcomes for U.S. citizens and permanent residents from groups underrepresented in computing and (2) foster sustainable changes in culture and practice at the computing organizational level.

Bio: Jeff Forbes is the lead Program Director for the Education & Workforce program in the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (NSF CISE), managing programs that address the critical and complex issues of education and broadening participation in computing. From 2001-2019, Jeff was on the faculty of Duke University where he was an Associate Professor of the Practice of Computer Science. He received his BS and PhD in computer science from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively. His research interests include computer science education, social information processing, and learning analytics.