CDC Merges with CMD-IT

Effective May 2016, the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC) merged with the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT). CDC started in 1996 as a joint committee of ACM, CRA, and IEEE-CS. CDC has focused on the recruitment and retention of minorities in MS/PhD programs and the transition from the graduate programs to professional careers. The Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference started as a CDC project in 2001. CDC and CMD-IT have collaborated closely on the Tapia Conferences and CMD-IT's Academic Career Workshops for Underrepresented Participants. CDC also collaborated with CRA-W on a NSF BPC Alliance that includes the Collaborative Research Experiences for Undergraduates (CREU), Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates (DREU), Discipline-Specific Mentoring Workshops, Distinguished Lecture Serious, and Mentor Tracks at Hopper and Tapia.

The current CDC co-chairs, Dr. Charles Isbell, Senior Associate Dean in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, and Dr. Jeff Forbes, Associate Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Science at Duke University, approached CMD-IT about a possible merger in March. Given the overlap of the missions of CDC and CMD-IT, along with their history of collaboration on programs to support the recruitment, retention, and advancement of minorities and people with disabilities in computing, a merger of the two organizations was appropriate. As part of the merger, Dr.Charles Isbell, Dr. Jeff Forbes, Dr. Jamika Burge and Dr. Manuel Perez-Quinones (current and former CDC leadership)

are now members of the CMD-IT Board of Advisors. CMD-IT will maintain the webpages detailing the history of CDC. Everyone is very excited about the new opportunities that will result from the merger.

Since the ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing conference became an annual conference in 2013, Tapia leadership has continued to develop a robust conference program that matches the growth the conference has experienced each year. Recognizing the increased number of attendees from the industry sector, conference organizers added a professional development workshop to last year's program for industry participants which was well received. 

With over 1,000 attendees expected and over 20 new academic and industry sponsors to the conference, this year's conference will provide an exciting atmosphere for learning and knowledge sharing in September. CMD-IT will be providing professional development for undergraduate and masters level students through the Student Professional Development Workshop sponsored by Facebook and Microsoft on Wednesday, September 14 at the start of the conference. Students will attend sessions on resume writing and interviewing skills which will help them prepare for onsite recruiting/interviewing at the Tapia conference and during the industry recruiting season. 

Industry and academic professionals will be able to attend a professional development session  Effective Communication - The Hidden Success Factor.  This workshop facilitated by Sabrina Coleman, Founder and CEO of Mahoghany Coaching and Development, is designed to help professionals hone their interpersonal communication skills to help them achieve success in their careers. 

Conference attendees can sign up for these sessions when they register for the conference.