February 7, 2023
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just goals at the forefront of the work of the School of Computing and Information (SCI) - they are priorities integrated into all decisions and progress at the school. Since its formation in spring 2021, SCI's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee has worked to identify areas for further progression within the field to foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion within SCI.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, the DEI committee identified three primary areas to address. Led by Associate Dean of DEI Rosta Farzan, efforts have been focused on belonging, education and experience, and representation.
BELONGING
As the first area of focus, Farzan describes belonging as "a fundamental issue, goal, and important part of the mission of the school".
In recent years, the DEI committee observed a distance between students and the school's community - an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a concern particularly affecting PhD students, the DEI committee has sought a way to rectify the effects of this distance, and to rebuild the strength of community and sense of belonging traditional for the school.
"We have conducted a survey among PhD students to understand what barriers and challenges they face, and how to remedy those," said Farzan. "We've had over 50% of students respond so far, and will hopefully have the analysis to share by the end of the year within the community."
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
By identifying education and experience as areas of focus, the DEI committee has initialed efforts to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into the classroom experience.
Supported by a small grant and led by a member of the DEI committee, Dr. Marcia Rapchak (teaching assistant professor, Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship), SCI has formed a Community of Practice to promote and increase inclusivity within the curriculum.
Farzan described the event: "The community meets once a month, with speakers talking about topics to help develop curriculum to be more inclusive." Prior topics have included creating equitable assessments, recognizing and supporting transgender experiences, and developing compassion within the educational environment.
"I have learned so much, and have been able to make changes in the way of supporting students," Farzan said.
Also within this area of focus, the group is developing a website that will be available as a public-facing resource for intructors to utilize to make positive changes in their own curriculum. Additionally, the DEI committee continues to provide resources internally to SCI faculty, including practical guidelines to apply to courses.
REPRESENTATION
One immediate barrier currently being addressed is how students from underrepresented communities have access to the school. In response, the DEI committee is developing a cost-free orientation program for newly-admitted undergraduate students from underrepresented communities to visit SCI and has removed application fees for underrepresented students applying to graduate programs, starting summer 2023.
"This will allow students to learn about the opportunities available to them, and get information to aid in their decision to commit to the University of Pittsburgh while creating an environment that they want to and can be in," said Farzan about the in-progress program.
In addition to these specific areas of focus, the DEI committee is continuing to advocate for and increase awareness of the importance of technology being used to make social changes. "Technology for Social Change" is a speaker series supported by PNC designed to increase awareness about the role that technology can play in making changes within society, and to make connections between young scholars in relevant fields and the broader field. For more information about the speaker series, visit the PNC Technology for Social Change page.
For more information about available DEI resources, visit SCI School Initiatives and Resources.
--Emma Bender, SCI writing intern