CAREER: Overcoming Obstacles, Building Community, and Broadening Participation: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Career Decisions of Black Men in Computing

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The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program is a National Science Foundation-wide activity that offers awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education, to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization, and to build a foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. This CAREER project aims to examine and understand factors that contribute to the education and career decisions of Black men in computing. This understanding will inform enhancements to mentoring and other peer support programs designed to increase the retention of individuals from underrepresented groups in computing, informatics, and engineering (CIE) disciplines. The ubiquity of computing and digital information is driving rapid change in the world. Diversity is essential for the United States to maintain a globally competitive CIE workforce.Qualitative methods will be used in this project to examine relationships among individual and environmental influences on Black men studying CIE and their support systems, interest levels, satisfaction, and retention in university degree programs. Utilizing elements of both the Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT and the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the research will explore the unique, individual characteristics that influence and impact the educational and career decisions of Black men. Increased understanding of these characteristics and their relationships will advance awareness of barriers to retention and success for Black men in computing. The integrated research and education plans include the development of a new course and the establishment of the BLKGENIUS network to engage Black men in computing and match them with role models and mentors in order to promote retention and success. This award is funded by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), which provides awards to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.