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Computer Science Fund for Excellence
The Computer Science Fund for Excellence, originally established in 1988, continues to pursue new initiatives in keeping with the fund's original mandate: "To raise funds to enhance the excellence of the department's programs of study in a manner that would complement, rather than replace traditional sources of University funding."
When the Department of Computer Science celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1988, a planning committee was formed consisting of ten Department alumni, a graduating student and three staff members from the Department. The committee felt that one major activity should be established as a legacy of the celebration. The activity that was unanimously supported was an advancement fund to be supported by the department's alumni and the Computer Science Fund for Excellence was born.
Fueled by industry trends requiring computer science expertise the numbers of students seeking Degrees in the field of Computer Science increased dramatically. In 1999-2000 there were more Arts & Science graduates from Computer Science than from the college's other natural sciences combined. In fact, 13.4 percent of graduates of the college are from the Department of Computer Science. Traditional university funding is been hard pressed to keep up with this type of growth, thus, the Computer Science Fund for Excellence was revitalized in August, 2000, with an entirely new Board of Trustees.
Funds raised in the past have supported annual awards given to the best graduating MSc or PhD students in the department, the Alumni Award (a scholarship to an undergraduate who has served the department well), and the Paul G. Sorenson Distinguished Graduate Lecture Series. The fund has also been used for the purchase of specialized hardware.
Along with continued funding of these worthwhile endeavors, the board has set new goals for the Computer Science Fund For Excellence such as sponsoring the Women in Computer Science Scholarship. The Department of Computer Science as well as the industry has noticed that there is a large discrepancy between the number of male and female graduates in the field. This scholarship will be awarded to female undergraduates in order to attract female students to the computer science program.
Another goal of the board is to assist in the funding of new facilities for the department. With the number of students the department currently supports and the dynamic nature of the industry, the fund would like to assist the university in funding new facilities for the Department.
The board of the Fund For Excellence would like thank all those who have contributed to its successes in the past, and hopes you will continue to do so in the future.
Lyle Schweighardt
Member
Fund for Excellence Board of Trustees
Current Board of Trustees
Chair: Judith Escott
Members: Anthony Kusalik, Lyle Schweighardt, Debra Yee, Dean Jones, Scott Davis
Budget Manager: David Bocking
