Congress Endorses Computer Science Education as Driver of Innovation and Economic Growth

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2009 (ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX) --
IFCPF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- ACM (the
Association for Computing Machinery; http://www.acm.org/)
joins with several partners from the computing community to
commend the U.S. House of Representatives' passage of a
resolution to raise the profile of computer science as a
transforming industry that drives technology innovation and
bolsters economic productivity. The resolution, H. RES. 558,
(http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc111/hr558_ih.xml)
sponsored by Congressmen Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and Jared
Polis (D-CO), designates the week of December 7 as "National
Computer Science Education Week." Citing the influence of
computing technology as a significant contributor to
U.S. economic output, the House resolution calls on
educators and policymakers to improve computer science
learning at all educational levels, and to motivate
increased participation in computer science. ACM is
partnering with Microsoft, Google, Inc., and Intel as well
as the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA),
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT),
and the Computing Research Association (CRA) to build
awareness of computer science education as a national
priority.

"National Computer Science Education Week will help us
draw attention to the need for an educational system that
values computer science as a discipline and provides
students with critical thinking skills and career
opportunities," said Bobby Schnabel, chair of ACM's
Education Policy Committee
(http://www.acm.org/public-policy/education-policy-committee)
and dean of the School of Informatics at Indiana University.
"We want to thank Congressmen Ehlers and Polis for calling
attention to these issues."

Chris Stephenson, executive director of the Computer
Science Teachers Association (http://www.csta.acm.org/)
(launched by ACM in 2005), noted the vital role of computing
in people's daily lives and the urgency of building a strong
computing workforce. "We need to expose K-12 students to
computer science concepts to help them gain critical 21st
century skills and knowledge, and we're grateful for
Congress' recognition of this need as a national priority,"
she said.

Lucy Sanders, CEO and co-founder of the National Center
for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT;
http://www.ncwit.org), pointed to ongoing efforts by NCWIT,
ACM, CSTA, and others to address computer science for K-12
students and to attract more women and minority groups to
the field. "This annual commemoration can bolster our
efforts to inform students, teachers, parents, and the
general public about how computer science enables innovation
in all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
disciplines to create economic opportunities," she said.

"Increasing energy efficiency, advancing healthcare, and
improving communication in the digital age are just a few of
the national priorities that depend on computer science,
which Congress has recognized. Computer science teaches
students design, logical reasoning, and problem-solving -
all skills that have value well beyond the classroom," said
Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Research for
Microsoft.

"Despite serious economic challenges confronting the
nation, computer science-related jobs are among the
fastest-growing and highest paying over the next decade,"
said Alfred Spector, vice president of Research and Special
Initiatives at Google, Inc. "These times require an
increasing supply of diverse students exposed to rigorous
and engaging computing courses at the K-12 level, and
National Computer Science Education Week can help to
reinforce this effort."

Andrew Chien, vice president of Intel Labs, noted that
computer science underlies most innovation today, from
biotechnology to cinematography to national security. "Our
children's future success and their ability to make a
difference in a global society demand that we acknowledge
computer science as a core subject in education, as Congress
has done with this resolution," he said.

The first week in December was chosen for "National
Computer Science Education Week" in honor of Grace Murray
Hopper, one of the outstanding pioneers in the field of
computer science, who was born on December 9, 1906. She
engineered new programming languages and pioneered standards
for computer systems which laid the foundation for many
advances in computer science from the late 1940's through
the 1970s. In 1971, ACM established the annual Grace Murray
Hopper Award for Outstanding Young Computer Professional
(http://awards.acm.org/hopper/) to recognize contributions
made by computer professionals who were 35 years of age or
less, selected on the basis of a single recent major
technical or service contribution.

About ACM

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery
(http://www.acm.org/), is the world's largest educational
and scientific computing society, uniting computing
educators, researchers and professionals to inspire
dialogue, share resources and address the field's
challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's
collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the
highest standards, and recognition of technical
excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its
members by providing opportunities for life-long learning,
career development, and professional networking.

- - - -

Contacts: Virginia Gold, 212-626-0505, vgold@acm.org

Cameron Wilson, 202-659-9711, cameron.wilson@acm.org

((AScribe - The Public Interest Newswire / http://www.ascribe.org))

For full details on (IFCPF) IFCPF. (IFCPF) has Short Term PowerRatings at TradingMarkets. Details on (IFCPF) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.