Clemson University Is a Mecca for Black Computer Scientists

A survey by the Computing Research Association survey found 56 African Americans in tenure-track faculty positions at major research universities across the United States. Six of the 56 are teaching at Clemson University in South Carolina.

The senior Black faculty member in the group is Juan E. Gilbert, chair of the Division of Human-Centered Computing and professor of automotive engineering. Dr. Gilbert is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Cincinnati. He has taught at Clemson since 2000.

Also among the Black faculty in computer science is Damon Woodard, an associate professor who earned a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame.

There are four Black computer scientists who are assistant professors:

• Shaundra Daily who earned a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Christina Gardner who holds a Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
• Kyla McMullen, who completed her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
• Sekou Remy, who holds a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech.

In addition to the large number of Black faculty in computer science, 10 percent of all African American Ph.D. candidates in computer science in the United States, are studying for their doctorates at Clemson.