Assistant Leader Neguse Announces $6 Million for CU Boulder’s National Center for Women and Information Technology
Lafayette, CO — Today, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse announced a total of $5,999,812 in federal funding for the University of Colorado at Boulder’s National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). NCWIT aims to drive systemic change in computing by increasing the representation of women and other underserved groups in rapidly advancing fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductor chip design.
According to statistics published earlier this year, women make up 47% of the United States workforce, but only 25% of computing roles. This award, granted by the National Science Foundation (NSF), will help the University of Colorado at Boulder better support labs and departments in promoting diversity and fostering more inclusive computing education by training faculty to lead diversity efforts and developing a highly qualified, diverse computing workforce that will advance economic growth, health care and national security through diversity-driven innovation.
“I am excited to see our partners at the National Science Foundation award change leaders at CU Boulder with nearly six million dollars in federal funding to boost representation in growing sectors like computing. By supporting these initiatives, we are able to unlock the full potential of our state and further enhance our robust technology and innovation landscape,” said Assistant Leader Neguse.
“Over the last 20+ years, NCWIT has inspired students to pursue degrees in engineering and technology. They also work with industry to create an inclusive workforce that better represents the demographics of our state and nation,” said Keith Molenaar, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder. “Our partnership with NCWIT has placed CU Boulder engineering as a national leader in gender parity and creating an inclusive engineering workforce for the future of our nation.”
“NCWIT is proud to be a Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Alliance member, and we are grateful for NSF’s ongoing commitment to funding organizations like ours that seek to make the systemic changes necessary to diversify higher education computing and engineering departments and drive diversity-fueled innovation,” said Terry Hogan Executive Director and CEO of the National Center for Women & Information Technology. “This federal funding anchors our organization and allows us to work across the entire computing ecosystem, from K-12 through career to encourage underrepresented people to consider and persist in tech fields and careers.”
More information about the NSF’s award can be found HERE.
Assistant Leader Neguse has been a vocal advocate for Colorado’s growing technology and innovation landscape. Earlier this year, he joined fellow state and Federal leaders in cheering on the news that the NSF selected Colorado and Rocky Mountain West to lead the nation’s quantum revolution. Additionally, Neguse has repeatedly called on appropriators in Congress to support robust funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF). In April, he penned a letter highlighting the need to provide adequate funding for the NSF to support research and innovation taking place at federally funded science and research centers, including labs at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
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