EECS alumni Jeffrey Forbes (Ph.D. ’00, advisor Prof. Stuart Russell) has been named Chair of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education Policy Committee. Created in 2007, the ACM Education Policy Committee is a high-level committee of acclaimed computer scientists and educators dedicated to improving opportunities for quality education in computer science and computing education around the world. Prof. Forbes is an Associate Dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University and has served as Program Director for the Education and Workforce program in the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.

An article featured in Bloomberg Business titled “Five of the Best Computer Science Classes in the U.S” has named EECS CS 61A in the top 5. The number of college graduates who got degrees in computer science in 2011 was 2,000% higher than it was in 1970 according to the U.S. Dept. of Education. This course is taught by Asst. Teaching Prof. John De Nero. A notable alumni of this program is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, ’86.

A new documentary film titled “CODE: Debugging the gender gap” is premiering in NY next week. With 63% of college entrants female, why are on 18% majoring in computer science? And with Black and Latino enrollment in four-year colleges at an all-time high, why are less than 2% majoring in computer science? This documentary addresses the digital divide in the tech industry regarding gender and ethnicity. Prof. Dan Garcia was a key consultant for the producers. The film debuts April 19th at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Another event related to this topic but separate from the film is “Breaking Through Gender Stereotypes with Dr. Jean-luc Doumont. In his talk, Dr. Doumont challenges received ideas about genders and about how one can fight stereotypes. This event is on Thursday, April 16, Noon-1:30pm, Banatao Auditorium, SD Hall.