Congratulations to my friend and colleague, Jane Prey, PhD., who has received the Lifetime Service to the Computer Science Education Community award from ACM SIGCSE. This is a well-deserved honor for Jane as “an individual who has a long history of volunteer service to the computer science education community.”
Jane’s been a key proponent of industry and educational institutions attracting and retaining women in CS degree programs and careers. I first met her at SIGCSE in 1997, after reading her paper and research on improving CS undergraduate curriculum to better retain all students. I had the privilege of working with her from then on, becoming a personal friend, and even employing one of her daughters. She is a true advocate, mentor and supporter of both men and women in the field.
Jane’s work is more important than ever: the percentage of computer science graduates who are women declined from 37 percent in 1985 to a dismal 18 percent in 2009, according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, another organization where Jane has had a tremendous impact.
For a greater understanding of this problem, download Solutions To Recruit Technical Women, (by Caroline Simard, Ph.D. and Denise Gammal, Ph.D.,) from the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.