Marie desJardins argues ultra-competitive hackathon culture may discourage women in cybersecurity

Nov 13, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

There is a high demand for fresh talent in information security, but the industry has struggled to hire and retain professionals from an essential portion of their potential talent pool: women. Just 10 percent of people working in information security are women, and in a new Slate article UMBC’s Marie desJardins suggests the emphasis that recruiters and people in the industry place on competitive extracurricular activities, such as hackathons, may be dampening women’s interest in the field. Activities such as hackathons—events where coders compete to build a new product or service, working continuously over a set period of hours or… Continue Reading Marie desJardins argues ultra-competitive hackathon culture may discourage women in cybersecurity

Round Up: UMBC in the News

Sep 3, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community. Sarah Jewett, head of the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, along with Susan Martin of the Center for Women in Technology, writes about the importance of promoting STEM success for underrepresented and underserved student populations. Roy Meyers, political science, questions the methods the Mercatus study used to determine Maryland’s fiscal health. Anupam Joshi… Continue Reading Round Up: UMBC in the News

Sarah Jewett, STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, and Susan Martin, CWIT, Write Series of Op-eds for Evolllution

Aug 27, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Sarah Jewett, executive director of the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, and Susan Martin, associate director of the Center for Women in Technology, recently co-wrote a two-part series op-ed for Evolllution about their work developing programs to bridge access to STEM fields, focusing on underserved transfer students. The first part of the series discussed the STEM Transfer Success Initiative, which creates local institutional partnerships to support the success of students in transition, and the T-SITE Scholars program, which targets talented engineering and computing transfer students who demonstrate financial need. “These projects illustrate the potential of collaborative relationships to improve academic success, increase retention… Continue Reading Sarah Jewett, STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative, and Susan Martin, CWIT, Write Series of Op-eds for Evolllution

CWIT Bits and Bytes Program on CNN

Jul 31, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

In an article about the AMC drama “Halt and Catch Fire,” CNN explored the dearth of women in computing fields and efforts made by universities to encourage women in computer science. The article discusses UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology’s Bits and Bytes program, which introduces girls in their junior year of high school to engineering and information technology majors. The article cites a recent National Science Foundation study that found that only 18% of computer science majors were female. “In the ’80s, there were more women getting degrees in computer technology than there are now, which is mind-blowing,” actress… Continue Reading CWIT Bits and Bytes Program on CNN

CWIT, IS, and CSEE Faculty Receive NSF Grant for Transfer Scholars Community

Apr 20, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Penny Rheingans, director of The Center for Women in Technology (CWIT), Susan Martin, associate director of CWIT, Carolyn Seaman, information systems, and E.F. Charles LaBerge, computer science and electrical engineering, recently received a $632,488 grant from the National Science Foundation to support transfer scholars in computer science, computer engineering, and information systems. The grant will continue the work of the Transfer Scholars in Information Technology and Engineering (T-Site) program. The program provides scholarship funds, academic and professional programming, and a supportive community to encourage transfer student success in computing majors. The program is open to transfer students from Maryland community… Continue Reading CWIT, IS, and CSEE Faculty Receive NSF Grant for Transfer Scholars Community

Meet the Newest Alums: Haverkamp, Hughes, and Linville

Sep 29, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

UMBC is always full of hard-working people who aspire to do great things, and the class of 2014 is no exception. Today, we wanted to share with you what some of our recent graduates are planning to do with their Retriever education. Tabitha Haverkamp, information systems, quickly made her mark at UMBC by co-founding UMBC’s Industry Certification Training Group and and serving on the executive board of the Information Systems Council of Majors. She also completed undergraduate research in geographic information systems, was a member of the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT), and won the 2014 Student Leadership Award… Continue Reading Meet the Newest Alums: Haverkamp, Hughes, and Linville

U.S. News, Colleges Work to Engage Women, Minorities in STEM Fields, Penny Rheingans

Jul 18, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Delece Smith-Barrow of U.S. News & World Report, recently wrote about the importance of engaging women and minorities in STEM fields. Smith-Barrow interviewed UMBC’s Penny Rheingans, director for the Center of Women in Technology (CWIT). Smith Barrow wrote: “If students struggle in class and have few peers and faculty that look like them, it’s easy for them to think, “maybe I’m not supposed to be here, either,” says Penny Rheingans, director for the Center for Women in Technology at the University of Maryland—Baltimore County. Prospective college students who are women or underrepresented minorities can determine if a school can help them in their STEM… Continue Reading U.S. News, Colleges Work to Engage Women, Minorities in STEM Fields, Penny Rheingans

Retrievers Represent UMBC in the Women in Cybersecurity Conference

Jul 16, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

During the past school year, several UMBC students traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to partake in the first-ever Women in Cybersecurity Conference. Thanks to our wonderful donors, Emily Scheerer ’14, computer science; Christina Malliakos ’14, computer science; Emily McMurray ’14, computer science; and Ruth Coradin ’16, computer science and applied linguistics, were able to receive supplementary funding for their trip out west. The money was raised through a crowd-funded project undertaken by the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT). When the need for additional funding arose, CWIT reached out to its alumni and friends and rallied community support to ensure that the students would be able to… Continue Reading Retrievers Represent UMBC in the Women in Cybersecurity Conference

CWIT Springs Into Leadership

Apr 12, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

Last week the Center for Women in Information Technology (CWIT) held their second annual “Spring into Leadership,” event. The event which is designed to provide networking opportunities to women majoring in engineering or information technology had 120 registrants up 23 registrants from last year. Registrants included students as well as 25 Industry professionals from Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Harris Corporation, NSA, BAE Systems, UserWorks, JHU/APL, CyberPoint International, General Electric’s Middle River Aircraft Systems, and AAI. Wendy Martin, a vice president at Harris Corporation, gave the keynote address focusing on her story and the importance of diversity for organizational success. “The… Continue Reading CWIT Springs Into Leadership

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