Computer Science Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy (CS-IDEA) committee

Gaoxiang Luo
Two students working on research
Eric Zhong Fritsche
Swati Rampalli headshot
Regis Center
Zahara Spilka headshot
Juan Fernando Maestre headshot
Code the Gap zoom meeting
Kelly Thomas headshot
Maria Gini with a robot
VR canoe

In both the workforce and educational pipeline, computer science remains one of the least diverse fields, particularly in terms of the involvement of women and underrepresented minorities.

The Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) department is committed to supporting and recruiting a diverse community of students, staff, and faculty and helping everyone in this community to thrive. This requires deliberate work to build an inclusive and supportive environment for those from historically underrepresented and non-traditional backgrounds, which, in our field, includes American Indians and other Indigenous populations, people of color, new immigrant populations, people with both apparent and non-apparent disabilities, people who identify as women, people of various gender and sexual identities and expressions, first-generation students, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, people who claim more than one of the above identities, and people who might encounter barriers based on their religious expression, age, national origin, ethnicity, or veteran status.

As part of our department's Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy (CS-IDEA) work, we have created this webpage as a home base.  We encourage community members to use it to connect with "your people", learn about ongoing initiatives ranging from welcome events to scholarships to curriculum revisions, and get involved in our community.

- Daniel Keefe, CS&E Professor and CS-IDEA committee chair

Share your ideas

The CS-IDEA committee wants to hear from you! If you have suggestions for the department related to inclusiveness, diversity, equity, and/or advocacy, please describe share through one of the following methods:

Report bias and misconduct

There are a variety of official University resources for reporting bias and/or misconduct relating to inclusion and equity:

All upcoming events

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is built within and continues to occupy the traditional homelands of the Dakota people. It is important to acknowledge the peoples on whose land we live, learn, and work as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with our tribal nations.

We also acknowledge that words are not enough. We must ensure that our institution provides support, resources, and programs that increase access to all aspects of higher education for our American Indian students, staff, faculty, and community members. More land acknowledgement resources