The CS Department stands in solidarity with the nation, and indeed the world, in our common outrage and grief over the killing of George Floyd and too many others who have lost their lives through racist violence. 

Chancellor Jones and President Killeen have sent out strong statements of support, calling for unity and action.  This week Dean Rashid Bashir announced that the Grainger College of Engineering is taking active steps to address the problems of racism and the formation of an Anti-Racism Task Force (led by Tandy Warnow) within the IDEA Institute for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access. 

As a community, CS aspires to be a safe and supporting place for us to come together and support one another, and particularly at this time, our Black and African American students, faculty and staff. Towards this purpose, the Department and BAAC (Blacks and African Americans in Computing) are co-sponsoring a  Town Hall next week for all members of the CS community for us to come together and discuss this important topic. Since we recognize not everyone is comfortable speaking up in public, or they may not be able to attend, we are providing an option to provide input through a survey. 

As computer scientists, we have skills and knowledge that could be used to make a difference. Many of us are eager to do something but aren’t sure where to start. While there are many places where great resources are being collected, we plan to collect opportunities where members of the CS community can use our computing expertise to make a difference, and we also want to showcase the activities where our students, faculty and staff are contributing.