{"id":303632,"date":"2018-03-07T14:59:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T19:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=303632"},"modified":"2018-03-09T08:43:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T13:43:50","slug":"25-years-change-computer-science-303632","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/25-years-change-computer-science-303632\/","title":{"rendered":"25 years of change in computer science"},"content":{"rendered":"

The study of computer science has undergone sweeping change in the past couple of decades, right along with the technology itself. And Marty Guenther, who recently retired as undergraduate coordinator in the computer science department, has been both witness to that and a key participant during her 25 years at the University.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s watched the department\u2019s undergraduate enrollment increase dramatically\u2014from an initial graduating class of fewer than 10 in 1999 to more than 100 in a class now.<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s been a key player in helping to make that enrollment\u2014initially almost entirely male\u2014include more women.<\/p>\n

Even when there were only a handful of women students in the department, Guenther brought them together in events designed to create cohesion, notes department chair Sandhya Dwarkadas.<\/p>\n

Guenther also helped create Girl Power: A Girl\u2019s Introduction to Computer Science, which was offered as a Rochester Scholars summer course for high school students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was ready to quit, Marty reached out and showed the path forward. She knew us better than we knew ourselves at times.\u201d<\/div>\n

Now, participation in the BRAID initiative<\/a>\u00a0 has helped the department build its female enrollment. Last year, its percentage of graduating females was double the national average and it now has a thriving WIC (Women in Computing) group. BRAID funding enables several female students to attend the national Grace Hopper Conference for women in computing. For each of the last three years, Guenther has accompanied them, setting up opportunities for them to network with Rochester computer science alumni, many of whom have launched their own companies.<\/p>\n

Guenther has helped computer science students connect with a global tech community. She went to Budapest, Hungary, for example, to help create a study abroad opportunity for undergraduates studying computer science at the Aquincum Institute of Technology. And she accompanied a group of primarily computer science majors on a Gwen Greene Center for Career Education and Connections \u201croad trip\u201d to Silicon Valley to visit a range of companies, from Google, Facebook, and Twitter, to alumni startups.<\/p>\n

Guenther, who retired in December, enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the computer science department. Before joining the University, Guenther co-owned a hardware store with her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very traditional and conservative being in the hardware business,\u201d she says. \u201cThe diversity of students and faculty in computer science, and their willingness to share their life stories and customs have given me a world view. We have compared our religions and found more commonalities than differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

At home she has presents from China, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, India, France, Mexico, Pakistan, and Spain, \u201call given to me by caring students and faculty,\u201d Guenther says.<\/p>\n

Guenther\u2019s contributions were recognized with the Hajim School outstanding staff award in 2010.<\/p>\n

On a day-to-day basis, faculty and students alike relied on her to provide detailed information, as well as a broader perspective, on the undergraduate program\u2014and to lend much-needed advice and support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was ready to quit, Marty reached out and showed the path forward,\u201d recalls Nawrose Nur \u201903. \u201cShe knew us better than we knew ourselves at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dwarkadas says, \u201cEver since I joined the department, every day when I came in, the first face I saw would be Marty\u2019s \u2013 the first hello, the first big smile. I\u2019m really, really missing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guenther offered some farewell advice to her successor, Brynn Wilkins:<\/p>\n

\u201cRemind students that their behavior has consequences. Help them reach their full potential. Get them graduated and on their way. And keep track of them wherever they land.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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