For more information
Richard A. Aló, RAlo@uh.edu
Universities that have traditionally served underrepresented populations are important sites for outreach activities designed to improve the representation of minorities in computing. The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD)--founded in 1983--is such a university. As one of the main centers of higher education for Hispanics in Texas, UHD was formally designated a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The designation makes UHD the only open-admission, four-year undergraduate minority institution in Texas.
The campus is also home to the Center for Computational Sciences and Advanced Distributed Simulation (CCSDS).led by Executive Director Richard A. Aló. The CCSDS is UHD's liaison to the Advanced Distributed Simulation Research Consortium (ADSRC) of the U.S. Army Research Office. As part of the Consortium, CCSDS is charged with assembling a human resource base in computational science and advanced distributed simulation that will help meet the needs of research. As a minority-serving institution, UHD helps ensure this human resource base is diverse in ethnicity.
The CCSDS conducts several community outreach activities for students interested in careers in computer science, mathematics, and engineering. "These types of activities are critical if we are to build a pipeline of human resources to improve recruitment and retention of talented students," says Aló.
Several of these programs work with pre-college students. The Houston Pre-freshman Enrichment Program (PREP) is a four-year summer activity for high-achieving, high-ability socially and economically disadvantaged students who are interested in computer science, mathematics, and engineering. Students apply during the school year and begin the program as 7th graders. Throughout the summer, selected students attend educational enrichment classes held at UHD.
To keep PREP students' motivation and performance high during the school year, CCSDS sponsors an academic year continuation of the PREP program, called the Computational Sciences Academy and also known as Saturday PREP. In the program, PREP students are paired with mentors who nurture and encourage their commitment to pursue careers in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology careers. They also help teach them problem solving skills that will be valuable in their studies and careers.
Recently, both the Houston PREP and Saturday PREP programs were awarded the NASA Pre-College Award for Excellence in Mathematics, Science, Engineering, and Technology.
Other pre-college outreach programs include the Computer Science Academy, an activity of the ADSRC wherein socially and economically disadvantaged students receive help in computer science, computational science, and mathematics to help them bypass remedial college courses; competitive scholarships for incoming UHD computer science majors; and tours of the CCSDS and ADSRC graphics and simulation lab for high school students.
College programs include research assistantships in advanced distributed simulation, free tutoring in upper-level mathematics and computer science courses, advice and mentoring for scholarship and research assistantship students from CCSDS faculty Linda Becerra, and a learning center with open lab hours and tutoring.
In addition to these programs, the CCSDS--in conjunction with the Association of Departments of Computer/Information Sciences and Engineering at Minority Institutions (ADMI)--has recently undertaken compiling a comprehensive listing of minority institutions and their outreach programs. The resource will soon be disseminated through the ADMI Web site.
"It is vital to the survival of minority schools to be able to learn about research and programs conducted at other minority institutions, and to apply those programs to their own institutions," says Aló. "Many minority institutions do not have the resources in either personnel or financial terms to pioneer non-successful programs. This takes the guesswork out of the process."
Minority schools include those designated as HSIs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Native American Serving Institutions.