Clemson Gets 5 Million to Advance Blacks in Science

The grant will be used to launch the Institute for African American Mentoring in Computing Sciences.

In an effort to increase African American participation in the computer science field, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Clemson University a $5 million grant.

Serving as a national resource, with an emphasis in mentoring, Clemson University will use the grant to launch the Institute for African American Mentoring in Computing Sciences.

“African-Americans represent about 1 percent of the computer science faculty and researchers in the U.S.,” said Juan Gilbert, chairman of the Human-Centered Division at Clemson, in a written statement. “We formed this institute to increase the number of underrepresented groups earning computing science doctoral degrees and researchers in the academy, government and private sector.”

The institute will aim to increase the number of African American doctoral graduates who enter the workforce with a research focus and develop the future African American leaders with computing expertise in the academy, government and industry.

In collaboration with its partners, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Carnegie Mellon University, Rice University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Winston-Salem State University, Clemson will extend the work of current NSF alliances and demonstration projects that utilize different strategies towards broadening the participation of African-Americans in computing sciences.

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