Programs to Focus on Minorities

Programs to Focus on Minorities
RICE NEWS OFFICE
April 16, 1998

With the goal of encouraging minorities to pursue science and mathematics course
work and careers, Rice University will host hundreds of minority students, faculty
members and researchers during three June programs.

The 4th Annual Conference for African-American Researchers in the Mathematical
Sciences (CAARMS4), June 16-19, will highlight current work by African-American
researchers and students in mathematics. This conference will also facilitate
working relationships between them, helping to cultivate their careers. In addition
to the talks there will be a graduate student poster session.

The conference is sponsored by the National Science Foundation-funded Center
for Research on Parallel Computation (CRPC), Rice University and Lucent Technologies.
For more information contact Theresa Chatman, manager of Outreach Programs,
CRPC, at (713) 285-5180 or tlc@rice.edu. More information on the conference
and registration fees are available at http://www.crpc.rice.edu/CRPC/CAARMS4/.

On June 25, Rice will be the site of "Steering Minority Education for
the 21st Century," a conference sponsored by the South-Central Computational
Science in Minority Institutions Consortium (SC-COSMIC) and the National Science
Foundation.

A related symposium, "ADMI 98–Assessment and Vision," is set June
26-27. ADMI is the Association of Departments of Computer and Information Science
and Engineering at Minority Universities.

During the SC-COSMIC conference, students, faculty and invited speakers will
discuss topics of interest to minorities in the computational sciences. Topics
slated for discussion include: 1) strengths and weaknesses of minority and majority
institutions; 2) easing transitions between minority situations (high school,
undergraduate education) and majority situations (undergraduate education, graduate
school, workplace); and 3) developing masters and Ph.D. programs at minority
institutions.

Ken Kennedy, director of the CRPC, who helped design the SC-COSMIC event, said
that "this conference will not only inspire a lively discussion of important
issues, it will also allow minority students to experience and 1impact the process
of policymaking."

At the ADMI Assessment and Vision Symposium, students and faculty will discuss
how to attract and retain minorities in the computer sciences and involve students
in research; establishing facilities, culturally sensitive curricula, and models
of education for minority students; and improving the research and teaching
environment, enhancing faculty opportunities, and developing partnerships with
major research institutions.

Those who wish to register for the SC-COSMIC and ADMI events should contact
Theresa Chatman, manager of Outreach Programs, CRPC, at (713) 285-5180 or tlc@rice.edu.
More information is available at http://www.crpc.rice.edu/CRPC/SC-COSMIC-ADMI98.