Professor Gets CWG Grant

Dr. Jody Clarke-Midura, an assistant professor with the Instructional Technologies and Learning Sciences (ITLS) department, was awarded a grant from the Center for Women and Gender (CWG) at USU in April 2017. The $12,959 grant was awarded for a qualitative study involving women in Computer Science (CS) majors in Northern Utah. The study will be funded from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. This project was designed together with PhD student Katarina Pantic, as she is conducting research for her dissertation.

“I am excited to work with Katarina on this research and to explore why women persist in CS majors,” said Dr. Clarke-Midura. “This project will investigate different trajectories women take through their CS majors and contribute to the knowledge base on factors that influence women’s retention and persistence in CS undergraduate programs. I am grateful to the Center for Women and Gender for funding this research and providing a doctoral student with a research opportunity.”

Dr. Clarke-Midura’s other funded research (NSF Award #1614849) focuses on recruitment and broadening participation in CS—in particular, the role of mentoring and gender in summer computer programming camps.

“I have worked alongside Jody for a year now and she has provided me with a true graduate student apprenticeship, part of which was collaborating on this grant proposal,” said Pantic. “It makes me really excited to be given an opportunity to give voice to women succeeding in CS majors, as I continue my own academic development while working with someone as dedicated and passionate about empowering girls as Jody.”