1. Motivation
[Sax, NCGE, 2014]

2. NCWIT
NCWIT - the National Center for Women & Information Technology - is a non- profit organization partnering with universities, companies, and other organizations to increase women’s participation in computing and technology.
Goal: equip change leaders with resources for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K-12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers.

3. Pacesetters Program
Organizations (e.g., education institutions and companies) apply to join the program
Organizations are selected and join the program as a cohort
Each organization work with NCWIT to set aggressive and measureable goals over a 2-year timeframe
NCWIT offers access to social science expertise, research-based resources, and insights on the latest tools
Members of a cohort exchange ideas, lessons learned, etc.

4. Rutgers as an NCWIT Pacesetter
Member of the 2016 cohort
42 new and experienced members
Executive Champion: Peter March, SAS Executive Dean
Point Person: Rebecca Wright, CS Professor and DIMACS Director
Change Leaders:
Thu D. Nguyen, CS Professor and Associate Chair
Amelie Marian, CS Associate Professor and Undergraduate Director
Nicole Wodzinski, Director of Research Programs in STEM, Douglass Project for Women in STEM

5. Our Pacesetter Plan
Carefully study our demography wrt gender (and ethnicity)
Examine and improve our Introductory CS course sequence
Study what others have done to successfully reduce the gender gap
Implement at least 3 important changes
Douglass-DIMACS CS Living and Learning Community for Women
Group of 20 1st-year students per year interested in majoring in CS
Education and community-building program
Group resides in a common residential dorm
Peer mentor in residence
1-credit course exploring innovative and real-world applications of CS
Douglass Residential College course “Knowledge and Power: Issues in Women’s Leadership”

6. Some Rutgers CS Statistics
Gender gap
CS 111: 20-26% women
CS 112: 10-21% women
CS 211: 11-19% women
CS 344: 9-18% women
CS 111
22-58% women intending to major in CS
74-85% men intending to major in CS
CS 111 -> CS 344
36.5% women intending to major in CS make it to CS 344
41.5% men intending to major in CS make it to CS 344

7. LLC Status First group of students to arrive Fall 2016
Outreach activities to promote LLC
Already finding excitement and interest from admitted women students