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An $800,000 Mellon
Foundation grant will allow the Mathematics and Computer Sciences
departments at Wesleyan University, Connecticut College and Trinity College
to collaborate on a new cost and resource sharing arrangement, expand the
departments’ curricula and provide incentives for more computer science
faculty to work in a liberal arts setting.
The grant will fund the
hiring of four post-doctoral fellows in computer science who will develop
new courses, seminars and workshops. While each fellow will be employed by a
“home” institution, all four will provide instruction and collaborate with
colleagues at the three participating academic institutions. This will
include on-site instruction and the simultaneous teaching of courses at the
institutions through video conferencing.
The grant also focuses on
providing resources for the recruitment, mentoring and training of women and
underrepresented students in computer sciences. Methods will include faculty
and peer mentoring, workshops and programs on career and research
opportunities, and the creation and distribution of materials aimed at
interesting nontraditional students to enroll in introductory computer
science courses.
Wesleyan University,
Connecticut College and Trinity College have enjoyed a long tradition of
academic collaboration known as the CTW Consortium, which includes sharing
instructional technology and library service resources. In recent years, the
Mellon Foundation has also awarded grants to the CTW Consortium to sponsor a
computer sciences joint colloquium and to build on existing shared resources
to improve the curricula of all three member institutions.
The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants on a selective basis to
institutions in higher education, museums, and art conservation, performing
arts, population, conservation and the environment and public affairs. |
