The CDC is an organization comprised of volunteers with the mission of increasing the diversity in the field of computing. The success of CDC is a reflection of the commitment of its members to the mission via the CDC projects. CDC encourages computing professionals, researchers and students to become members and help diversify the field of computing. The unique benefit of CDC membership is the social dynamics of support from diverse researchers in the field of computing.

The CDC Membership is composed of three types of members:

Steering Committee Member

This level of membership is appointed. Each organization — ACM and CRA— appoints one member to the Steering Committee. Immediate past co-chairs and current co-chairs are automatically appointed to the Steering Committee to insure continuity. Three positions of the Steering Committee are appointed by the CDC membership. It is assumed that CDC Steering Committee members do not have a CDC project, unless desired by the member. The time duration of the three positions appointed by the CDC membership is three years, with the membership being staggered, resulting in a new member being appointed by CDC membership every year. Each CDC Chair-Elect serves one year at Chair-Elect, one year as Chair, then one year as Past Chair. The one-year term starts July 1 of each year.

CDC Committee Member

This level of membership implies that one is leading or co-leading a CDC project. Members participate in in-person meetings and vote and take part in the CDC decision-making process.

CDC Associate Committee Member

This level of membership implies that one is active with one of the CDC projects, but not leading or co-leading a project, and has expressed desire to be an associate committee member. Associate members participate in in-person meetings as determined by the project lead(s).

Membership: Propose a Project

Membership in CDC involves identifying a project that falls within the mission of the organization. To insure the success of projects, we ask potential members to provide the following information about a project to the current CDC Co-Chairs:

“Project Title: to be used in CDC literature”

Project Description: a one-page description of the project with the following information:

• Motivation and goals. It is expected that projects will have a national or international scope.
• Pilot projects that lead to national or international projects are encouraged.
• Budget.
• Initial timeline of activities and expected project duration.
• Potential sources of funding.

It is assumed that the project lead or co-leads will interact with CDC members and resources to obtain funding for the project.

After submission, current members review the project description to avoid overlap with existing projects. Once accepted, the project lead becomes a member of CDC for the duration of the project. The position of CDC Committee Co-Chair is considered a project, as the co-chairs are responsible for status reports to the three committees, fundraising, and overall organization of the committee.

Projects are discussed during the CDC conference calls and in-person meetings to insure the success of projects. Furthermore, a short description of the progress made on each project is expected on a quarterly basis, as this information is needed for quarterly CDC status reports to ACM and CRA. If no progress is made on a given project within one year of initiation, the project will be re-evaluated for feasibility.

For information on how you can join, write to the current CDC Co-Chairs and .