CSC News
Department Launches New Future Students Campaign and Site
Thanks to the generous support of numerous corporate sponsors, the Department of Computer Science at NC State University is pleased to announce the official launch of a comprehensive “Future Students” campaign, designed to show how computer science graduates are making a real difference in the world in a socially relevant way.
Print and email collateral will complement a dynamic new Future Students web site, which contains a variety of profile stories and videos designed to answer the questions "Why Computer Science?" and "Why at NC State?" in a compelling way. Two of the video profiles are also being used by NC State's central admissions office.
Posters and promotional materials have been distributed to over 10,000 middle and high school advisors, counselors, and science & math teachers. “First and foremost, this is a campaign to dispel the popular misconception of computer science as simply coding and programming," says Ken Tate, director of development and external relations for the department.
"The reality is that computing permeates every aspect of our lives, crosses all geo and social boundaries, and provides a platform for creativity and innovation that will allow graduates to make a difference in the world."
Feedback from advisors and teachers from across the state has been over-whelmingly positive according to Tate. The collateral is helping teachers show students (and potential recruits into the computer science discipline) real world applications demonstrating the importance of science and math.
"We are very excited about the positive feedback we’ve received so far,” says Dr. Mladen Vouk, head of the Computer Science Department at NC State University. "We particularly hope the campaign is successful in attracting more females and under-represented minorities into the discipline."
In addition to pertinent information about the department, including admissions information, coursework, career opportunities, etc., the new web site features video and static profiles on computer science alumni, students and professors. Among those featured with video profiles are; Nate Johnson (B.S. 2000), meteorologist/executive producer at WRAL-TV, who combines his passion for the weather with computer science that helps him do more with data; Josh Whiton (B.S. 2004), founder and CEO of Transloc, a company that designs software that tracks mass transit systems in real-time and makes that information available to your mobile handheld device or computer; and Brittany Strachan, a senior majoring in computer science who plays small forward on the Wolfpack women’s basketball team and was selected for the 2009-2010 ACC Women’s All Academic Team.
This outreach effort was made possible by the generous support of corporate partners Duke Energy, Cisco, EMC, Harris, I-Cubed, AT&T, Red Hat, SAS, Tekelec, NetApp, Northrop Grumman & Progress Energy, as well as the ePartners Program and the NC State Engineering Foundation.
To see the new Future Students page, click here.
~coates~
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