The SPIRIT program would not be possible without the generous support of several industry partners. The list below identifies our current partners as well as the what they hope to accomplish as a SPIRIT partner. You can view more information about the type of support they are providing to SPIRIT by using the SPIRIT Partners link under the Industry menu group. If you are interested in joining our support team as an industry partner, please use the Become a Partner link under the Industry menu group.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of about $5.92 billion, we are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.
SPIRIT was made possible through the generous funding provided by NSF's ITEST (Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) program.
Siobhan Bredin, ITEST Learning Resource Center Project DirectorPrior to becoming Project Director, Siobhan worked at EDC on the U.S. Department of Education's Information Technology Career Cluster Initiative - convening and collaborating with an industry advisory consortium and with ten high school and community college pilot sites to plan for, develop, test and implement a national IT Career Cluster Model, enabling increased numbers of students to access high potential careers in the IT field, with a special focus on attracting more females to IT careers.
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key business partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable companies to take full advantage of the on demand era. For more information about IBM, visit their website.
IBM and Purdue University are partnering up to change the negative perceptions of women in the technology industry and generate interest in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math for young females.
Suchita Dadhich, Technical Leader, Strategic Innovation & Organizational CapabilitySuchita R. Dadhich is a technical leader responsible for strategic innovation and organizational capability for IBM Rational, Americas. Her leadership focus is to drive greater efficiency and agility within the organization on various topics; morale, talent development and revenue attainment.
Prentice Hall is the world's largest publisher of academic and reference textbooks, publishing in areas spanning the higher education curriculum.
Prentice Hall is happy to support the SPIRIT project. We firmly believe that Alice is an important tool that introduces students to programming in an appealing way. We support SPIRIT's approach of using Alice across the STEM disciplines to teach this important characteristic of IT.
Tracy Dunkelberger, Executive EditorTracy Dunkelberger is Executive Editor of Prentice Hall's Computer Science division. In this role, Tracy oversees the marketing of the first textbook on Alice--Learning to Program with Alice, 1st Edition by Wanda Dann, StephenCooper, and Randy Pausch Copyright: 2006.
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (USA), Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. Cummins reported net income of $715 million on sales of $11.4 billion in 2006.
Cummins’ support to SPIRIT includes support for Gail Farnsley to serve as a Visiting Professor in the Computer and Information Technology Department for a period of two years. In this role, Gail will begin a new program in Technology and Society in hopes of spreading the benefits of information technology even more widely.
Gail Farnsley, Vice President and Chief Information OfficerGail F. Farnsley is Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Cummins Inc., a global power leader based in Columbus, IN, with 2006 sales of $11.4 billion. Ms. Farnsley has worldwide responsibility for all information technology, including strategy, standards, applications, operations, and infrastructure. She has received numerous honors and awards for her efforts to encourage women and girls to consider IT career fields and to support women who have made that choice.
Purdue's College of Technology began with a strong vision to provide excellent applicationoriented degree programs as a key component of Purdue’s land grant mission. Today, the school’s faculty is comprised of exemplary teachers, accomplished scholars, and professional leaders. Strong industrial ties and close interdisciplinary partnerships between the school’s departments have also built a strong foundation for the school‘s work today while shaping the vision for tomorrow.
Purdue's College of Technology fully supports SPIRIT through its support of several faculty a staff members on the SPIRIT team, including Alka Harriger, Kyle Lutes, Toni Munguia, Melissa Dark, and Gail Farnsley. Additional support has been provided by the college's marketing staff who created the design for the SPIRIT brand.
Alka Harriger, Professor and Assistant Department Head of CITAlka Harriger joined the faculty of the Computer and Information Technology Department (CIT) in 1982 and is currently a Professor of CIT and Assistant Department Head. Her current interests include reducing the IT gender gap, web application development, and service learning. As the SPIRIT PI, she is involved in all aspects of the project.
The mission of the Purdue University College of Science is to serve the citizens of Indiana, the United States, and the world through discovery that expands the realm of knowledge in the basic and applied sciences, learning through education and the dissemination of scientific knowledge, and engagement through the exchange of scientific skills and understanding.
Purdue's College of Science supports the SPIRIT project through the work of one of its faculty, Buster Dunsmore.
Buster Dunsmore, Associate ProfessorAs Chair of the Undergraduate Program in the Department of Computer Science, I have seen our percentage of undergraduate women drop from 30% a few years ago to only 3% today. We must do creative things like our SPIRIT project to show young women that they have an incredible future in computing!
Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, began with the vision of a computer on every desk and in every home. Thirty years ago this seemed impossible. Today, for the more than 1 billion people who have access to technology, life has changed profoundly: Information is more readily available, connections are more easily made, and commercial trade is more efficient and accessible.
Microsoft also has a very long standing commitment to education, working to help learners and educators around the world. We are continuing to invest in education programs at all levels and have created products specifically to meet the needs of students and academic communities.
Krishna Kumar,
These women are members of the Technology Talent Team, a group of Advisory practitioners who possess skills related to technology and are capable of delivering technology consulting and solutions across the enterprise.
These ladies believe in the need to improve the IT gender gap so strongly that they are personally donating their time and funds to make SPIRIT successful.
Tamara Fisher, Manager, Health Industries AdvisoryTamara Fisher is a Manager in the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Health Industries Practice. Ms. Fisher has twenty-five years of professional experience in the Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, Logistics, and Biomedical industries. She has an extensive record of achievement in Distribution Management, Project Management, and Continuous Process Improvement - bridging the gap between business operations and technical delivery. She is a high-impact change agent - adept at interpreting industry trends, perceiving opportunities for dramatic productivity gains, designing new systems and processes, creating achievement plans, marshalling resources, and managing them through to completion.
