Grant program designed to attact women to technology careers

CCBC is the proud recipient of a three-year, $335,886 grant from the National Science Foundation for the Grace Hopper Scholars Program in Mathematics and Computer Science.

The Grace Hopper Scholars Program has a twofold mission: to train women to become technicians in computer science and related fields, and to encourage women to pursue careers in computer science. The program will prepare women for success in required mathematics courses, provide an environment that will build their confidence, create awareness of careers in computer science, and emphasize the impact women can make in this vital field.

The program is named after Grace Hopper, a renowned mathematician and programmer. Among her many accomplishments are work on the development of the MARK I and MARK II electromechanical computers and ENIAC, one of the first electronic digital computers. Because she wanted programmers to return to being mathematicians, she invented the compiler in 1953, the intermediate program that translates English language instruction into the language of the target computer. Her desire to simplify the translation process led to work on the development of the business language COBOL.

The Grace Hopper Scholars Program targets to single mothers, non-traditional students, women who are interested in changing careers, female students who test into Math 083 and minority women. A Summer Bridge program, mentoring and tutoring will ensure student success in the program. In the Summer Bridge program, students will participate in refresher courses to help prepare them to begin the program in the fall.

Faculty members are actively recruiting potential students to begin the program in Fall 2004. The goal is to recruit 30 students in the first year, therefore space is limited. For more information, call 443-840-1392.