History Blog - 50 Years of SIGCSE

In 2018 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of our SIGCSE organization. As part of the celebration we posted a “timeline” of events that happened in the organization’s history.

Quick links to each year: [ 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | 1983 | 1982 | 1981 | 1980 | 1979 | 1978 | 1977 | 1976 | 1975 | 1974 | 1973 | 1972 | 1971 | 1970 | 1969 | 1968 ]

If you have any information about a specific event or any additional information or pictures to include in the posts below, please forward to Briana Morrison: bbmorrison@unomaha.edu.

2017

We are up to 2017 and the 48th Technical Symposium was held March 8-11 in Seattle, Washington. The Conference Chairs were Michael E. Caspersen (Aarhus University) and Stephen Edwards (Virginia Tech). The Program Chairs were Tiffany Barnes (North Carolina State University) and Dan Garcia (University of California Berkeley). The SIGCSE 2017 conference theme—Inspire, Innovate, Improve!—highlights our aim to inspire computing educators to innovate new teaching strategies, and to improve those strategies by engaging in the self-reflection and evaluation necessary to deliver the best possible learning outcomes for all. This year we recognizedf a new category of the top 25% of accepted papers as “Exemplary papers”, highlighted by the Program Chairs for their accomplishment of high quality, novelty and broad appeal to reviewers. The Program Chairs also selected three best papers, that each received at least 2 of the highest rankings from reviewers. The Best CS Education Research Paper is “Computing with CORGIS: Diverse, Real-world Datasets for Introductory Computing” by Austin Bart, Ryan Whitcomb, Dennis Kafura, Cliff Shaffer and Eli Tilevich. The Best New Program Paper is “Infrastructure for Continuous Assessment of Retained Relevant Knowledge” by Kathleen Timmerman and Travis Doom. The Best Experience Report Paper is “Making Noise: Using Sound-Art to Explore Technological Fluency” by Erik Brunvand and Nina McCurdy. There were 348 paper submitted and 105 were accepted (30% acceptance rate). There were 1414 attendees! Here are the full submission statistics:

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Gail Chapman for long term impact on computer science education through the creation of curriculum, teacher professional development, and fierce advocacy for social equity in all computing classrooms.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Mats Daniels for more than two decades of dedicated service to computing education research, building and supporting the international network of computing educators. You can listen to an interview with Mats through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/danielsM-....

From Andy Rasmussen: A group of 20 people from Chicago Public Schools - the strongest representation from a K-12 school system. Click here for animated version.

The 22nd ITiCSE conference was held in Bologna, Italy on July 3-5, 2017. The Conference Co-Chairs were Renzo Davoli (University of Bologna) and Michael Goldweber (Xavier University). The Program Co-Chairs were Guido Rößling (Technische Universität Darmstadt) and Irene Polycarpou (University of Central Lancashire). The conference continues to be a truly international conference with 241 submissions with a total of 554 authors from 40 countries on all continents: the authors came from Africa (5), Asia (33), Europe (232), the Middle East (11), North America including Central America and the Caribbean (189), Oceania (34), and South America (50). A total of 175 papers, one panel, 31 posters, 18 tips & techniques and 16 working groups were submitted. This year, 56 papers (32%) were selected for presentation and inclusion in the proceedings along with 24 posters, 9 Tips and Techniques and 9 accepted working groups. There were 228 attendees.

The 11th ICER conference was held August 18-20, 2017 in Tacoma, Washington. The General Chairs were Josh Tenenberg and Donald Chinn (both from University of Washington Tacoma), Judy Sheard (Monash University), and Lauri Malmi (Aalto University). The Program Chairs were Josh Tenenberg (University of Washington Tacoma) and Lauri Malmi (Aalto University). The Associate Chair (Junior Site Chair) was Ari Korhonen (Aalto University). There were a record 180 submissions with 29 papers accepted for a 16% acceptance rate! There was a record 157 attendees!

One thing I've neglected to mention about the ICER conference is the Works In Progress Workshop co-located with ICER. This was started in 2014 as the Critical Research Review and was chaired by Colleen Lewis (Harvey Mudd College). Somewhat like a Doctoral Consortium for faculty, it has been held every year since and is now a permanent part of the ICER program.

The 21st Doctoral Consortium was co-located with ICER and held on August 17, 2017. Leading the efforts were Ben Shapiro (University of Colorado, Boulder) and Jan Vahrenhold (University of Münster). There were 20 participants.

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2016

The year is 2016 and once again we held elections, which happen to be our current officers! Elected Chair was Amber Settle (Depaul University). Judithe (Judy) Sheard (Monash University) is our Vice-Chair. Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan State University) is the Secretary and Adrienne Decker (University at Buffalo) is the Treasurer. The current At Large members are Michelle Craig (University of Toronto), Briana Morrison (University of Nebraska Omaha), and Mark Weiss (Florida International University). The Past Chair is Susan Rodger (Duke University). The Bulletin Editor was Maureen Doyle (Northern Kentucky University assisted by Leo Porter (University of California San Diego). Current (outgoing) Bulletin Editor is Leo Porter and Assistant Editor (soon to be Chief) is Karen Davis (Miami University).

The 47th Technical Symposium was held March 2-5, 2016 in Memphis, Tennessee. The Conference Chairs were Jodi Tims (Baldwin Wallace University and Carl Alphonce (University at Buffalo). The Program Chairs were Michael E. Caspersen (Aarhus University) and Stephen Edwards (Virginia Tech). There were 297 papers submitted with 105 accepted for an acceptance rate of 35%. There were 1253 attendees!

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Jan Cuny for her vision and principled leadership that has transformed computer science education and has moved the United States closer to making computing education accessible to everyone.

Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Barbara Boucher Owens for her extraordinary record of service to the computing education community for working relentlessly to grow the effectiveness of SIGCSE as a global leader in computer education and for being an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend to all.

Best Paper award (left to right) - Award Winners: Dennis Bouvier, Cynthia Lee, Dan Zingaro, Leo Porter, Quintin Cutts, Beth Simon, Robert McCartney. Presenters: Michael E. Caspersen and Paul Tymann

Photo Credit: Mark Guzdial

The 2nd New Educators Workshop was co-located with the Technical Symposium and was held March 2, 2016. At the helm were David Reed (Creighton University) and Andrea Danyluk (Williams College).

The 21st ITiCSE conference was held July 11-13, 2016 for the first time in South America, in Arequipa, Peru. The Conference Chairs were Ernesto Cuardros-Vargas (UCSP, Peru) and Alison Clear (Eastern Institute of Technology). The Program Chairs were Janet Carter (University of Kent) and Yvan Tupac (San Pablo Catholic University). There were 147 papers submitted with 56 accepted (38% acceptance rate) and 186 people attended. There were seven working groups.

The 12th ICER conference was held September 9-11, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. The local arrangements were made by Judy Sheard (Monash University). The Conference and Program Chairs were Brian Dorn (University of Nebraska at Omaha), Judy Sheard (Monash University) and Josh Tenenberg and Donald Chinn (University of Washington Tacoma). Donald was learning how to do the local arrangements as were in the planning stages of separating the ICER leadership from Past - Current - Future to Site and Program chairs. There were 102 papers submitted with 26 accepted (25% acceptance rate) and 105 people attended.

The Chairs’ Best Paper Award was presented to Alex Lishinski, Aman Yadav, Jon Good, and Richard Enbody, from Michigan State University, and the John Henry award to Elizabeth Patitsas, Jesse Berlin, Michelle Craig, and Steve Easterbrook from University of Toronto. Picture of Elizabeth in Australian bushman's hat.

The John Henry Award for the paper that in the judgement of the conference participants attempts a task that may seem impossible and pushes “the upper limits of our pedagogy” was presented to Elizabeth Patitsas, Jesse Berlin, Michelle Craig, and Steve Easterbrook from the University of Toronto for their paper “Evidence that Computer Science Grades are not Bimodal”. As is traditional with this award Elizabeth was presented with a “typical” local hat, an Australian bushman’s hat – complete with swinging corks.

The 20th Doctoral Consortium was co-located with ICER and held on September 8, 2016. Leading the efforts were Anthony Robins (University of Otago) and Ben Shapiro (University of Colorado, Boulder). The discussants were Katrina Falkner (University of Adelaide), Steve Cooper (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Kristin Searle (Utah State University), Aman Yadav (Michigan State University), and Christopher Hundhausen (Washington State University) for the 17 participants.

ICER DC participants

The Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 2, April 2016) contained an article by Michael Casperson explaining the "Improved Reviewing Process for the SIGCSE Technical Symposium". Most conferences have a Program Committee (PC) with personally invited members (typically in the range of 25--50 people). The setup for the SIGCSE Technical Symposium is radically different with a huge pool of ∼1,000 volunteers serving as reviewers.

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2015

The 46th Technical Symposium was held March 4-6, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri (yes, Missouri, not Kansas) with Conference Co-Chairs Adrienne Decker (Rochester Institute of Technology) and Kurt Eiselt (University of British Columbia). The Program Co-Chairs were Jodi Tims (Baldwin Wallace University) and Carl Alphonce (University at Buffalo). There were 289 papers submitted with 105 accepted (36% acceptance rate) and 1285 people attended.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Mark Allen Weiss for authoring textbooks that have had a profound impact on generations of students and for invaluable service to the computer science education community. You can listen to an interview with Mark through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/weissM-ov....

Susan Rodger and Paul Tymann presenting Mark Weiss with plaque.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Frank Young for over 40 years of service to the computing education community that exemplifies the term "lifetime service" and for serving as a role model and mentor to generations of students and faculty. You can listen to an interview with Frank through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/youngF-ov....

Susan Rodger and Paul Tymann presenting Frank Young with plaque.

The city lit up with a SIGCSE sign

Aman Yadav with Elvis Presley cutout.

The 6th Roundtable for Department Chairs was held on March 4, 2015 co-located with the Technical Symposium and was headed up by Sandra DeLoatch (Norfolk State University).

The 20th ITiCSE conference was held July 6-8, 2015 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The Conference Chair was Valentina Dagienė (Vilnius University) and the Program Co-Chairs were Carsten Schulte (Berlin Freie University) and Tatjana Jevsikova (Vilnius University). There were 179 people in attendance for the 54 accepted papers from 124 submissions (43.5% acceptance rate) and for the 7 working groups.

11th ICER conference was held August 10-12, 2015 in Omaha, Nebraska. Brian Dorn (University of Nebraska at Omaha) handled the local arrangements. Conference and Program Co-Chairs were Quintin Cutts (University of Glasgow), Brian Dorn (University of Nebraska at Omaha), and Judy Sheard (Monash University). There were 96 papers submitted and 26 were accepted for a 25% acceptance rate. This was the largest ICER to date with 119 attendees for the single track conference and everyone received a cowbell (More cowbell!) and rang it in appreciation of speakers.

John Henry awardee Kristin Searle, with the requisite ICER hat photo.

ICER 2015 logo with 3 cowbells

The 19th Doctoral Consortium was again co-located with ICER and held on August 9, 2015. Leading the 20 participants were Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Anthony Robins (University of Otago).

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2014

The 45th Technical Symposium was held March 5-8, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Conference Co-Chairs were J. D. Dougherty (Haverford College) and Kris Nagel (Georgia Gwinnett College). The Program Co-Chairs were Adrienne Decker (Rochester Institute of Technology) and Kurt Eiselt (University of British Columbia). There were 274 papers submitted with 100 accepted (39.4% acceptance rate). There is some discrepancy on the number of attendees, with the registration team reporting 1383 and the website (https://sigcse.org/sigcse/events/symposia/2014/) reporting 1285. Clarification anyone?

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Robert Panoff for promoting student enrichment, curriculum development, faculty enhancement, and infusing computational thinking at all levels through Shodor and the National Computational Science Institute.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Andrea Lawrence for dedication to the computing education community, serving as a role model and mentor to students and faculty, improving diversity in computing education, making computing education available to everyone, and for helping students and faculty to "Find a way or make one". You can listen to an interview with Andrea through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/lawrenceA....

The very first New Educators Workshop was held in conjunction with the Technical Symposium on March 5, 2014 and was led by David Reed (Creighton University) and Andrea Danyluk (Williams College). The SIGCSE Board agreed to run this workshop every other year. This meant that the Department Chair Roundtable and the New Educators Workshop would alternate every year at SIGCSE.

Dan Joyce with his daughter Julie and another Villanova student Lindsey Press holding their badges up to solve one of the SIGCSE puzzles for that year

And now for a very special group - the SIGCSE CSEngers!!! The marvelous Jesse Heines (University of Massachusetts, Lowell) organized volunteers each year who practiced and then performed at the closing luncheon. It was a guaranteed good time!

The 19th ITiCSE conference was held June 23-25, 2014 in Uppsala, Sweden. The Conference Co-Chairs were Asa Cajander and Mats Daniels (both from Uppsala University). The Program Co-Chairs were Tony Clear (Auckland University of Technology) and Arnold Pears (Uppsala University). There were 150 papers submitted with 53 accepted (35% acceptance rate). There were 3 working groups and 169 people in attendance.

The 10th ICER conference was held August 11-13, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. Quintin Cutts (University of Glasgow) handled all of the local arrangements. The Conference and Program Co-Chairs were Beth Simon (University of California at San Diego), Quintin Cutts (University of Glasgow), and Brian Dorn (University of Nebraska at Omaha). There were 69 papers submitted with 17 accepted for a 25% acceptance rate and 79 registered attendees.

This ICER will forever be known as the "dancing" ICER as the participants enjoyed a Scottish ceilidh dance following the conference banquet. Much of the night's festivities were captured by the Google Glasses worn by several of the students in attendance.

The 18th Doctorial Consortium was held on August 10, 2014, co-located with ICER. The leaders this year were Sally Fincher (University of Kent) and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology).

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2013

The year is 2013 and it was time for elections. Elected Chair was Susan Rodger (Duke University). Vice-Chair was Paul Tymann (Rochester Institute of Technology). Judy Sheard (Monash University) was elected Secretary and Amber Settle (Depaul University) was elected Treasurer. The At Large members elected were Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan State University), Tiffany Barnes (North Carolina State University), and Alison Clear (Eastern Institute of Technology). Renee McCauley (College of Charleston) continued on the Board as Past Chair.

The Bulletin Editor was Maureen Doyle (Northern Kentucky University), assisted by Dave Kauchak (Pomona College).

The 44th Technical Symposium was held March 6-9, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Conference Co-Chairs were Tracy Camp (Colorado School of Mines) and Paul Tymann (Rochester Institute of Technology). The Program Co-Chairs were J. D. Dougherty (Haverford College) and Kris Nagel (Georgia Gwinnett College). There were 294 papers submitted with 111 accepted (38% acceptance rate) with 1304 attendees.

You can listen to an interview with Tracy through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/campT-ove....

The SIGCSE Symposium 2013 Best Paper Award was presented to Leo Porter, Skidmore College, and Beth Simon, University of California, San Diego for their paper: Retaining Nearly One-Third more Majors with a Trio of Instructional Best Practices in CS1. This paper was selected out of 111 accepted papers.

The theme of the symposium was "The Changing Face of Computing". For the first time at SIGCSE, there was a movie shown following the Thursday night reception, "CODEBREAKER" (www.turingfilm.com). The movie describes the remarkable and tragic story of Alan Turing, one of the 20th century's most important people. The Executive Producer of this drama-documentary participated in a Q&A session following the movie. A very popular feature of recent Technical Symposiums, the "puzzle extravaganza" started this year.

The Villanova 2013 photo shows Tom Way, Don Goelman and Bob Beck of Villanova and Pete DePasquale of TCNJ (but a Villanova grad)

Dan Zingaro, Leo Porter, and John Glick all smiling for the camera.

Gloria Townsend and Tracy CampPhoto Credit: Sarah Guthals

Paul Tymann with Microsoft guys

Ralph Morelli, Laurie King, and Michelle Craig

Thanks to Tracy Camp, Paul Tyman, and Laurie King for the photos!

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Michael Kölling for the development of novel programming teaching tools, teaching approaches and teaching material.
You can listen to an interview with Michael through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/kollingM-....

Dan Joyce introducing Michael Kölling for his award speech.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Henry Walker for dedication to the computing education community, including within SIGCSE and APCS, development of curricula and pedagogy, authoring articles and textbooks, creation and support of conference submission software, mentoring of students and faculty, and consulting with departments to advance excellence in computing education.
You can listen to an interview with Henry through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/walkerH-o....

Dan Joyce presenting Henry Walker with his plaque.

You can listen to an interview with Henry through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/walkerH-o....

The 18th ITiCSE conference was held July 1-3, 2013 at the University of Kent with Janet Carter (University of Kent) serving as Conference Chair. Ian Utting (University of Kent) and Alison Clear (Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology) served as Program co-chairs. There were 161 papers submitted with 51 accepted for a 32% acceptance rate. There were 182 attendees and 4 working groups.

The 9th ICER conference was held August 12-14, 2013 at the University of California, San Diego. Beth Simon (UC San Diego) handled the local arrangements. Conference and Program Co-Chairs were Beth Simon (UC San Diego), Alison Clear (Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology), and Quintin Cutts (University of Glasgow). There were 70 papers submitted with 17 research and 5 discussion papers accepted for a 31% acceptance rate, and 66 people attended the conference.

The 17th Doctoral Consortium was held August 11, 2013, co-located with ICER and was led by Allison Elliott Tew (University of British Columbia) and Jonas Boustedt (Högskolan i Gävle) with 12 participants.

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2012

The 43rd Technical Symposium was held February 29-March 3, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Conference Co-Chairs were Laurie Smith King (College of the Holy Cross) and Dave Musicant (Carleton College). The Program Co-Chairs were Tracy Camp (Colorado School of Mines) and Paul Tymann (Rochester Institute of Technology). There were 291 papers submitted with 100 accepted (34% acceptance rate). There were 1286 attendees.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Harold (Hal) Abelson for improving not only the way we teach computing by his contributions to Logo, App Inventor, and his textbook authorship but also the way we view knowledge in the broader society, through his leadership with the Free Software and Open Educational Resources movements and his founding efforts with the Creative Commons initiative.

You can listen to an interview with Hal through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/abelsonH-....

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Jane Prey for her love of and dedication to the computing education community -- academic, industry, government and professional societies; and for her tireless efforts in encouraging more students, especially women, to pursue education and careers in computing.

You can listen to an interview with Jane through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/preyJ-ove....

The 17th ITiCSE conference was held July 3-5, 2012 in Haifa, Israel - the first trip for the conference outside of Europe. The Conference Co-Chairs were Tami Lapidot (Technion Israel) and Judith Gal-Ezer, (The Open University). The Program Co-Chairs were Michael Caspersen (Aarhus University) and Bruce Klein (Grand Valley State University). There were 134 papers submitted with 60 accepted for a 45% acceptance rate. There were 188 people in attendance and 4 working groups.

All three Keynotes of ITiCSE 2012 were in conjunction with the Turing Centenary events of the Alan Turing Year. Turing award winner Prof. Michael Rabin, Hebrew University and Harvard University, talked about his vision of high school Computer Science Education; Prof. Lenore Blum, Carnegie Mellon University, talked about "Alan Turing and the Other Theory of Computation" and highlighted Turing's work related to the foundations of numerical computation; Prof. David Harel, Weizmann Institute of Science, presented Turing’s major achievements in three different fields: computability, biological modeling and artificial intelligence, and explained how each of them motivated and inspired his own research interests. The conference program included 60 papers, 3 invited panels, 13 tips, techniques & courseware presentations, and 23 posters. (The Bulletin, Vol. 44, No. 3, July 2012).

The 8th ICER conference was held September 10-12, 2012 at Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. In charge of all the local arrangements was Alison Young (Christchurch Polytecnic Institute of Technology). The Conference and Program Co-Chairs were Alison Young (Christchurch Polytecnic Institute of Technology), Kate Sanders (Rhode Island College), and Beth Simon (University of California at San Diego). There were 53 papers submitted. There were 15 research papers and 8 discussion papers accepted (39% acceptance rate). There were also nine lightning talks for the 61 registered attendees. The keynote speaker was Professor Jan Meyer from the University of Queensland, Australia, who spoke eloquently about “Threshold Concepts, Pedagogy and Student Learning: Challenges and Opportunities” and related this theory to computing.

The 16th Doctoral Consortium was held September 9, 2012 and was led by Judy Sheard (Monash University) and Allison Elliott Tew (University of British Columbia) with 15 participants.

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2011

The 42nd Technical Symposium was held March 9-12, 2011 in Dallas, TX. The Conference Co-Chairs were Thomas Cortina (Carnegie Mellon University) and Ellen Walker (Hiram College). The Program Co-Chairs were Laurie Smith King (College of the Holy Cross) and Dave Musicant (Carleton College). There were 314 papers submitted with 107 accepted (34% acceptance rate). There were 1187 attendees.

For the first time, a Best Paper Award was given; the winners were Guillaume Marceau, Kathi Fisler, and Shriram Krishnamurthi for their paper “Measuring the Effectiveness of Error Messages Designed for Novice Programmers”.

Best Paper Award Winners Guillaume Marceau and Kathi Fisler with Symposium Co-Chairs Ellen Walker and Tom Cortina.

And who can forget the "Pokens!"???

And of course - the Robot Hoedown & Rodeo!

Thanks to Robert Walker, you can find loads more pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robert_a_walker/sets/72157626236567140/wit...
The 6th Roundtable for Department Chairs was held on March 12, 2011 and was led by Sandra DeLoatch (Norfolk State University), Frank Friedman (Temple University), and Dianne Martin (George Washington University).

The conference theme was Reaching Out was reflected in Matthias Felleisen's talk, "Teach Scheme!", Susan Landau's talk, "A Computer Scientist Goes to Washington: How to be Effective in a World Where Facts Are Only 10% of the Equation," and Luis von Ahn's talk, "Three Human Computation Projects" which received a rare standing ovation. In honor of our Texas location, we added the "Robot Hoedown and Rodeo" with "trail bosses" Jennie Kay and Tom Lauwers, featuring a grand finale of 40 line-dancing robots!

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Matthias Felleisen for the creation of a design-focused introductory curriculum, for educational outreach programs for K-12, and for many PhD students who continue to merge programming language research and education.

You can listen to an interview with Matthias through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/felleisen....

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Gordon Davies for many years of valuable and generous service to the computing education community including contributions through active membership on international committees, working groups, and conference program committees.

You can listen to an interview with Gordon through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/daviesG-o....

The 16th ITiCSE conference was held June 25-29, 2011 in Darmstadt, Germany. The conference co-chairs were Guido Rößling (TU Darmstadt) and Christian Spannagel (PH Heidelberg). The Program Chair was Thomas L. Naps (University of Wisconsin Oshkosh). There were 169 papers submitted with 65 accepted for a 38.5% acceptance rate. There were 200 people in attendance and 3 working groups.

The Wednesday night conference dinner was held at Castle Auerbach just outside of Darmstadt and provided a real medieval knight’s meal with great fun and entertainment. It included a juggler and two musicians for medieval music and entertainment. At the end, former SIGCSE chairs Barbara Boucher Owens and Henry Walker were elevated to Queen Barbara and Sir Henry, Grand Duke of Castle Auerbach, ending an enjoyable and relaxed conference. (The Bulletin, Vol. 43, No. 3, September 2011).

For some images of ITiCSE 2011 (in Darmstadt) and the conference banquet in an old castle, see http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/~walker/personal-photos/iticse-darmstadt-2011... (thanks to Henry and Terry Walker).

Dinner in the castle with musicians for entertainment.

After dinner there were "skits". Featured prominently were Barb Owens and Henry Walker:

The 7th ICER conference was held August 8-9, 2011 in Providence, RI. In charge of local arrangements was Kathryn Sanders (Rhode Island College). The Conference Co-Chairs and Program Co-Chairs were Michael Caspersen (Aarhus University), Kathryn Sanders (Rhode Island College), and Alison Clear Young (Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology). There were 47 papers submitted with 18 accepted for a 38% acceptance rate. There were 68 attendees. The keynote was given by Eric Mazur (Harvard University):

The 15th Doctoral Consortium was held on August 7, 2011 with Robert McCartney (University of Connecticut) and Judy Sheard (Monash University) leading.

The Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 2, June 2011) announced that each December, beginning in 2011, a CD with proceedings from all the year's conferences would be mailed to members. The Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 4, December 2011) announced a new publication schedule for The Bulletin: The SIGCSE Bulletin will be published in the middle of the months of October, January, April, and July.

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2010

The year is 2010 and we elected another Board. Renee McCauley (College of Charleston) was elected Chair and Dan Joyce (Villanova University) was elected Vice-Chair. Secretary was Susan Rodger (Duke University) and Treasurer was Doug Baldwin (State University of New York Geneseo). At Large members elected were Tiffany Barnes (North Carolina State University), Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Amber Settle (Depaul University). Barbara Boucher Owens (Southwestern University) continued as Past Chair. The Bulletin Editor was Henry Walker (Grinnell University), assisted by Z Sweedyk (Harvey Mudd College) and Christine Alvarado (University of California at San Diego).

The 41st Technical Symposium was held March 10-13,2010 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conference chairs were Gary Lewandowski (Xavier University) and Steve Wolfman (University of British Columbia). Program chairs were Thomas Cortina (Carnegie Mellon University) and Ellen Walker (Hiram College).

From The Bulletin (Vol. 42, No. 1, June 2010), here is SIGCSE 2010 by the numbers:

Participants

• Attendees: 1176
• SIGCSE Award Winners giving talks: 2
• Exhibitors: 31
• Platinum Plus Supporter: 1 (Microsoft)
• Platinum Supporters: 2 (Google, Intel)
• Gold Supporter: 1 (IBM)
• Companies/organizations making inkind donations: 15

Submissions

• Pre-symposium events (Wed.): 8
• Papers: 303 submitted, 103 (34%) accepted
• Panels: 24 submitted, 12 (50%) accepted
• Special Sessions: 23 submitted, 12 (52%) accepted
• Workshops: 86 submitted, 39 (45%) accepted
• Posters: 88 submitted, 48 (55%) accepted
• Birds of a Feather: 54 submitted, 36 (67%) accepted
• Videos: 14 submitted, 11 (79%) accepted

Organization/Logistics/Technical Support

• Committee members: 36
• Number of reviewers: 777
• Number of reviews received: 1667 + 303 meta-reviews
• Number of reviews (including meta-reviews) assigned to each paper: at least 6

Here are some pictures of the Kids' Camp T-shirts. Can anyone identify the cute model?

Girl showing back of Tshirt with Alice, CS Unplugged, Kodu and Scratch

Girl in SIGCSE 2010 Kids Camp Tshirt

Here are a couple of pictures from Dan Joyce:

Dan Joyce and son Tom

Don Goelman, Pete DePasquale and Bob Beck

The 5th Roundtable for Department Chairs was held March 10, 2010 and was led by Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University), Sandra DeLoatch (Norfolk State University), Frank Friedman (Temple University), and Dianne Martin (George Washington University)

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Sally Fincher, for outstanding contributions to computing education research and inspiring a generation of computing education researchers.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Peter J. Denning, for forty years of exceptional service in industry and academia that stimulated a combined synergy which promoted educational excellence in software engineering and computing curricula.

ITiCSE
The 15th ITiCSE conference was held June 26-30 at Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey. Conference chairs were Reyan Ayfer, Bilkent University, Turkey and John Impagliazzo, Qatar University, Qatar. The Program Chair was Cary Laxer, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, USA. There were 117 paper submissions with 60 accepted (51.3% acceptance rate). There were 190 attendees and 8 working groups. The ITiCSE 2009 dinner was held on a cruise boat on the river Seine and included Turkish dancing and entertainment.

Program committee for ITICSE 2010 in Ankara, Turkey.

More pictures can be found at the conference website: http://iticse2010.bilkent.edu.tr/.

ICER
The 6th ICER was held August 9-10, 2010 in Aarhus, Denmark. There was another change in the leadership structure with the previous conference chair staying as Past Chair, the current site, and the future site. Again, the local person took care of the local arrangements, but officially all three were conference and program chairs: Michael Caspersen (University of Aarhus), Kathryn Sanders (Rhode Island College) and Michael Clancy (University of California Berkeley). There were 38 papers submitted with 12 accepted (32% acceptance rate). There were 38 attendees.

From The Bulletin (Vol. 42, No. 3, September, 2010):

Since 2008, the ICER Fool's Award has been given for the paper with the most interesting idea and/or most potential for impact on CS education and CS Education research. This year's winners were Orni Meerbaum-Salant, Michal Armoni, and Mordechai (moti) Ben-Ari for their paper Learning Computer Science Concepts with Scratch. Among other things, the paper introduces the idea of integrating the SOLO taxonomy and Bloom's taxonomy as orthogonal taxonomies. Most people in the audience were captured by the idea, which seems very promising and useful. Picture of author in viking hat with horns.

The 14th Doctoral Consortium was held on August 8th in Aarhus with Lauri Malmi (Aalto University) leading the efforts.

The March 2010 (Volume 42, Issue 1) brought a new format to the Bulletin

• a newsletter format. Here's a snapshot of the SIGCSE membership from the same issue (reported 14 January 2010):

• 2624 members
• members from 63 countries
• 2069 (78.9%) from the United States
• 94 from Canada
• 62 from the United Kingdom
• 49 from Scandinavia (21 from Sweden)
• 33 from Spain
• 32 from Australia
• 24 from Japan
• 22 from Germany
• 10-20 from Greece, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan and South Africa

Did you know that SIGCSE used to have several listservs? From The Bulletin (Vol. 42, No. 2, June 2010) in addition to the two we have now (SIGCSE-ANNOUNCE and SIGCSE-MEMBERS) we also had SIGCSE-COMMITTEES, SIGCSE-MATH-COMM, SIGCSE-FACULTY-EVAL, SIGCSE-WOMEN-COMM and SIGCSE-CRM. As use within each declined or the sub-committees finished their work they were discontinued.

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2009

The 40th! Technical Symposium was held March 3-8, 2009 in Chattanooga, TN. The Conference co-chairs were Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan University) and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology). The Program co-chairs were Gary Lewandowski (Xavier University) and Steve Wolfman (University of British Columbia). There were 305 papers submitted and 100 were accepted for a 32.8% acceptance rate. There were 1176 people in attendance. The theme of the conference was “Engaging Computer Science Education.” Full Symposium statistics:

New things introduced this year included having Associate Program Chairs who implemented the first two-stage paper review process for the SIGCSE Symposium and the first ever Video program, organized by Dennis Bouvier. The 2009 Video page is still up at: https://www.cs.siue.edu/~dbouvie/channelsigcse/program_summary.htm. Video kiosks were placed around the venue and videos played on the hotel closed circuit tv during the symposium.

The celebration of the 40th annual SIGCSE conference was held during the reception Thursday night at Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Elliot Koffman, for an extraordinary record of teaching, curriculum development, publishing papers as well as numerous textbooks, and for helping to shape Computer Science education. His keynote was entitled, "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in CS1."

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Michael Clancy, for thirty years of outstanding, lasting contributions and research in computer science education: "Oh Pascal!", case studies, AP leadership, lab-based instruction, self-paced innovation, and mentoring.

The other keynotes were Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer of Microsoft, gave the Friday keynote address on “Rethinking Computing.” Gregory Abowd of Georgia Institute of Technology spoke during Saturday’s concluding luncheon on “Make IT Matter: How Computing Can Make a Difference.”

Pre-symposium events included:

• The 4th Roundtable for Department Chairs led by Sandra DeLoatch (Norfolk State University),
  Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University), Frank Friedman (Temple University) and Dianne Martin (George Washington University).
• The Roundtable for Department Chairs, an NSF-supported work on Studio Learning in Computing Education, an Assessment Roundtable, New Teaching Faculty Roundtable, BlueJ/Greenfoot Day, and events on Data Intensive Scalable Computing, the Future of Robots in Education, Integrating FOSS into the Undergraduate Computing Curriculum, and Managing the Academic Career for Faculty Women at Undergraduate Computer Science and Engineering Institutions (CRA-W). Wow!

The 14th ITiCSE conference was held July 3-8, 2009 at Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. The conference chair was Patrick Brezillon (Université Pierre et Marie Curie). Program chairs were Ingrid Russell (University of Hartford) and Jean-Marc Labat (Université Pierre et Marie Curie). There were 206 papers submitted with 66 accepted for a 32% acceptance rate. There were 247 attendees. Here's a picture from Mary Anne Egan showing the reception / poster room:

ITICSE 2009 in Paris, France. This was the reception/poster room….
The 5th ICER conference was held August 10-11 at University of California Berkeley. The conference and program co-chairs were Mike Clancy (University of California at Berkeley), Michael Caspersen (Aarhus University) and Ray Lister (University of Technology, Sydney). There were 24 papers submitted and 13 were accepted for a 54% acceptance rate. There were 62 attendees that year and 6 working groups.

The 13th Doctoral Consortium was held with Beth Simon (University of California at San Diego) leading.

From Volume 41, Issue 2, June 2009 Inroads: SIGCSE unveiled its new website design (http://sigcse.org) in early April. Our webmaster, Scott Grissom at Grand Valley State worked long and hard on this transition.

The SIGCSE Board meets face-to-face twice a year (once at the Symposium) and has begun almost monthly conference phone meetings. You can keep abreast of our decision makings and deliberations, again by consulting the website section at http://sigcse.org/about

The Volume 41, Issue 4, December 2009 was the last issue of Inroads as a newsletter. Officially it was:

Welcome to this final edition of inroads – the SIGCSE Bulletin. This Volume 41, Number 4, 2009 December, issue represents the last time that inroads (with lower case “i”) will be synonymous with the SIGCSE Bulletin. Starting in 2010, the SIGCSE Bulletin will continue with Volume 42, Number 1 as an online newsletter. The “new” SIGCSE Bulletin would contain news items related to SIGCSE and its operations as well as other SIGCSE-related information. Starting in 2010, in addition to the SIGCSE Bulletin, ACM will publish Volume 1, Number 1 of a magazine called ACM Inroads (with upper case “I”). This new ACM magazine will have content similar to inroads as found in this current 2009 December issue. Columnists will continue to contribute to the publication; invited editorials would continue to appear when appropriate.

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2008

The 39th Technical Symposium held March 11-16, 2008 in Portland, OR, in cooperation with SIGACCESS. This was the first SIGCSE to be held in the Pacific Northwest! Conference Co-Chairs were Susan Rodger (Duke University) and J.D. Dougherty (Haverford College). Program Chairs were Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan University) and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology). There were 332 papers submitted with 100 accepted for a 30.1% acceptance rate. There were 1229 attendees.

This year represents the beginning of the full proceedings in the Digital Library, including a welcome message. The theme was “Diversity through Accessibility” and it was the first year that Kids' Camp was part of the Technical Symposium. For the first time the proceedings were available on CD.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Randy Pausch, for being an inspirational leader in building programs and environments blending art with science and motivating a world of learners to realize their dreams. His keynote was entitled, "Alice: A Dying Man's Passion".

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Dennis J. Frailey, for forty years of exceptional service in industry and academia that stimulated a combined synergy which promoted educational excellence in software engineering and computing education.

The other keynotes were delivered by Marissa Mayer of Google on Friday, while Ed Lazowska of the University of Washington talked during the concluding luncheon on Saturday.

The submission statistics for the entire Technical Symposium:

The pictures from 2008 are still on the website (https://www2.cs.duke.edu/sigcse08/photos.html). There are over 1000 pictures taken by the official photographer, Sandra, sister of Susan Rodger!

There were several events co-located with the Symposium:

The 3rd Roundtable for Department Chairs was held on March 12, 2008. It was led by Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University) and Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

There were two Doctoral Consortiums held this year - one co-located with the Symposium and the second co-located with ICER. The 11th Doctoral Consortium was held on March 12, 2008 and was led by Josh Tenenberg (University of Washington, Tacoma) and Donald Joyce (UNITEC Institute of Technology). The discussants were Chris Hundhausen (Washington State University), Laurie Murphy (Pacific Lutheran University), Carsten Schulte (Freie Universität Berlin), and Beth Simon (University of British Columbia).

The DC participants were Suzanne Balik (North Carolina State University), Kristy Boyer (North Carolina State University), William Doane (University at Albany), Brian Dorn (Georgia Institute of Technology), Cecily Heiner (University of Utah), Michael Hewner (Georgia Institute of Technology), Jeremy Huddleston (University of California, Berkeley), Maria Knobelsdorf (Freie Universität Berlin), Eliana Medina (University of Washington), Jeffrey Meunier (University of Connecticut), Lijun Ni (Georgia Institute of Technology), Michael Orsega (University of Tennessee), Michela Pedroni (ETH Zurich), Cecilia Vargas (University of Kent), and Timothy Yuen (University of Texas at Austin).

The 13th ITiCSE conference was held June 30 - July 2, 2008 at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The conference Chair was June Amillo (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid). The program co-chairs were Ernestina Menasalvas and Raquel Martinez (both from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid).

There were 150 papers submitted with 60 accepted for a 40% acceptance rate. Dame Wendy Hall gave the opening keynote entitled "What is web science and why is it important?" and 199 people attended. There were 5 working group reports.

The 4th ICER was held September 6-7, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. There were 46 papers submitted with 16 accepted for a 35% acceptance rate and 52 people attended. The second triumvirate for ICER was Raymond Lister (University of Technology Sydney), Michael Clancy (University of California-Berkeley) and Michael Caspersen (Aarhus University). The local person took care of all the arrangements when ICER was held at their location, but all three were officially Conference Chairs and Program Chairs (although you can find different names published in different places).

Here are some pictures from ICER 2008:

Raymond Lister at ICER 2008

Simon at ICER 2008

Paul Denny and Raymond Lister at ICER 2008 (Paul Denny (on crutches) being presented with the first Fool's Award, now known as the John Henry Award)

The 12th Doctoral Consortium was held September 5, 2008 in Sydney when the DC was relocated to be joint with ICER rather than the Technical Symposium. The leaders of this DC were the same as earlier in the year: Josh Tenenberg (University of Washington, Tacoma) and Donald Joyce (UNITEC Institute of Technology). Thanks for doing double duty!

In Volume 40, Issue 2, June 2008 Inroads issue the discussion of officially transitioning Inroads from “newsletter” to “magazine” began. The Board proposed to: 1. Decouple the conference proceedings from Inroads 2. Elevate Inroads to a "magazine" classification within ACM

1. Elevate the content to include papers of "refereed", "formally reviewed", and "reviewed" status for all four quarterly issues. The details were outlined in an email to the membership on March 13 and the details were reprinted in the Peripherals section of this issue.

From the same issue, a new set of leaders for ICER were announced to carry on the second 3-year host/leader cycle. Raymond Lister chaired ICER ‘08 in Sydney, Australia. His co-chairs were Mike Clancy, the 2009 ICER chair, and Michael Caspersen, the 2010 chair.

Two international chapters of SIGCSE were launched this year – an Australasian chapter and a Spanish chapter.

From Inroads Volume 40, Issue 4, December 2008: The 2008 year saw us at an all-time high for membership. JERIC transformed into a new publication called Transactions on Computing Education.

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2007

It was time for elections. In 2007 we elected Barbara Boucher Owens (Southwestern University) as Chair, Alison Young (Unitec New Zealand) as Vice-Chair, Dan Joyce (Villanova University) as Secretary, and Renee McCauley (College of Charleston) as Treasurer. Elected to the Board were Doug Baldwin (SUNY Geneseo), Wanda Dann (Ithaca College), Russell Ingrid (University of Hartford), and Henry Walker (Grinnell University, as immediate past Chair). The Bulletin (Inroads) Editor continued to be John Impagliazzo (Hofstra University).

The 38th Technical Symposium was held March 7-10, 2007 in Covington, KY (just outside Cincinnati). The Conference chairs were Susan Haller (SUNY Potsdam) and Ingrid Russell (University of Hartford). The Program Chairs were Susan Rodger (Duke University) and J.D. Dougherty (Haverford College). There were 317 papers submitted and 108 were accepted (34% acceptance rate). There were 1250 attendees.

There were two Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Awards given at this Symposium, one posthumously. The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to John Hughes, in memory of his forty years contribution to computing education, academic leadership and research in Australasia and internationally. He was an outstanding mentor of students and colleagues and a committed educator.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Judith Gal-Ezer, an outstanding researcher and curriculum designer who has carried out pioneering work involving teaching the essence of computer science on both the high school and university levels. Her keynote was entitled "To Teach is to Touch Lives Forever" (doi>10.1145/1227310.1227312 ). You can listen to an interview with Judith through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/galEzerJ-...

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to John Impagliazzo, for extraordinary services to computing education, with particular contributions to the SIGCSE Bulletin, to international conferences on computing history, to accreditation leadership, and to curricula development.

You can listen to an interview with John through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/impagliaz...

The Second Roundtable for Department Chairs was co-located with the Symposium and held on March 7, 2007. The leaders were Sandra DeLoatch (Norfolk State University), Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University), and Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology).

The 10th Doctoral Consortium was again co-located with the Symposium and was held on March 7, 2007. The organizers were Orit Hazzan (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology) and Josh Tenenberg (University of Washington, Tacoma). Discussants were Debra T. Burhans (Canisius College), Philip East (University of Northern Iowa), Dan Garcia (University of California at Berkeley), Donald Joyce (UNITEC Institute of Technology), Mary Z. Last (University of Mary Hardin-Baylor), and Robert McCartney, (University of Connecticut).

The 12th ITiCSE was held June 25-27, 2007 at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Janet Hughes (University of Dundee) was Conference Chair. Ramanee Peiris (University of Dundee) and Paul Tymann (Rochester Institute of Technology) were Program Chairs. There were 211 submissions and 61 were accepted for a 28.9% acceptance rate. 223 people were in attendance and there were 6 Working Groups.

Here are some pictures from ITiCSE 2007 in Dundee, Scotland:

Michael E. Caspersen and Mats Daniels at ITiCSE 2007

Catherine Lang and Mary Anne Egan

Mary Anne Egan presenting

The 3rd ICER was held September 15-16, 2007 at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. The Conference and Program Chairs were again the original triumvirate: Richard Anderson (University of Washington), Sally Fincher (University of Kent at Canterbury), and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology). There were 24 papers submitted with 14 accepted for a 58% acceptance rate. There were 71 attendees that second year.

In the June 2007 (Volume 39, Number 2) Issue of Inroads, outgoing Chair Henry Walker wrote a wonderful summary of the organization. Here are a few highlights:

For many years up to 2001, SIGCSE had the highest retention rate of any Special Interest Group (SIG) within the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). However, SIGCSE was attracting relatively few new members -- even fewer than the small number leaving. Put together, SIGCSE had 1908 members at the end of fiscal year 2001, after experiencing a decade-long period of gradual decline in membership. This placed SIGCSE as the ninth largest of approximately 34 SIGs. In 2001, the Board changed directions to strongly encourage conference participants to join SIGCSE through the strategic setting of registration rates. The expectation was that many new members would seek to retain their membership -- if only we could get them started. Additional efforts to increase member involvement and expand recruitment are discussed below. Although the impact of specific initiatives is difficult to assess, the organization seemed to be connecting well with many in the computing community. At the end of the 2006 fiscal year SIGCSE has 2587 members, an increase of about 35% over 2001, and now ranked as the 4th largest SIG (just overtaking SIG PLAN by 27 members in 2006).

In April, the conference leadership for SIGCSE 2010 was announced and current SIGCSE members were invited to volunteer to be part of future program committees. Within 35 hours, 21 SIGCSE members had volunteered -- a wonderful testament to the interest of our membership in the SIGCSE organization!

The Symposium and ITiCSE showed good growth:

The SIGCSE Board raised annual dues from $17 to $25 in 1999, and dues continue at that level today (for an electronic membership). This fee is consciously set to attract members, but (alas) it does not fully cover members costs. To balance budgets, SIGCSE traditionally has relied on achieving a surplus on the annual symposium. In many earlier years, symposia could achieve a profit of $25,000 or so, through the diligence and extraordinary efforts of conference leadership. More recently, the symposia have become extremely successful with exhibitors, particularly with the efforts of our exhibit management companies. At the same time, we plan both the ITiCSE and ICER conferences to break even, and sometimes a ITiCSE conference makes as much as a $10,000. With careful stewardship and with the resounding success of symposia and their exhibits, SIGCSE finances have progressed remarkably since 2001. For example, in 2001, SIGCSE's Fund Balance (reserve accounts with ACM) was $184,153.01; and ACM required a significant fraction of this to be held in reserve to cover cash flow for conferences. SIGCSE was in a solid financial position, but its reserves were only about 60% of annual conference expenses and receipts. With on-going careful stewardship and significant revenues from symposia exhibits, SIGCSE's Fund Balance at the end of the 2006 fiscal year was $438,699.04 -- an increase of about 138% since 2001. This level of financial expense has greatly exceeded expectations -- but it also has allowed the SIGCSE Board to keep registration fees for SIGCSE symposia relatively low while expanding SIGCSE programs and activities.

Special Projects: In 2002, through the vision of Sally Fincher and others, SIGCSE initiated a program of Special Projects Grants “to support members who wish to investigate and introduce new ideas in the learning and teaching of computing.” Grants are possible up to $5,000 USD per proposal, and successful recipients are expected to present their results at a SIGCSE conference.

In that same issue, Inroads published eleven papers on the topic of Computer and Human Error (CHE). CHE opens a new area of computing. We have all experienced computer human errors and now people are researching and addressing this new area. I am delighted to share these CHE works with you.

The December 2007 (Volume 39, Issue 4) Inroads premiered a new cover for this and future publications. Slightly more graphic introductory pages were also introduced as we moved toward modern times.

That same issue included an Invited Editorial from Bill Manaris (College of Charleston) reflecting on possible contributions to the falling enrollments in computer science. How different from today!

Finally, here's part of poem, " An Ode to Computing Educators at SIGCSE" by Tony Clear. It was recited to the SIGCSE award recipients at a dinner in Covington, Kentucky, March 8, 2007:

SIGCSE a group of fine people
Scholars who share humanity
Through their love of others
Love for learning
And love of teaching.
No matter what their age,
Through firm personal conviction,
Mentoring life long learning.

Knowing that
To truly learn

First
Must come
Or be developed

The thirst.

So,

Blessed are those who thirst
But even more so
Blessed are the thirst makers.

Tony Clear
08 March 2007

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2006

The 37th Technical Symposium was held March 1-5, 2006 in Houston, Texas. The Conference Chairs were Douglas Baldwin (SUNY at Geneseo) and Paul Tymann (Rochester Institute of Technology). The Program Chairs were Susan Haller (SUNY Potsdam) and Ingrid Russell (University of Hartford). 294 papers submitted, with 104 accepted, for a 35% acceptance rate. There were 1245 attendees (identical to previous year!)

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Richard Pattis for more than two decades of innovation and influence in providing thoughtful, profound, and concrete examples of teaching and thinking about algorithmic problem solving and programming.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Joyce Currie Little in honor of her service on the SIGCSE Board, the ACM Education Board, numerous conference committees; and for her contributions to computing in two year colleges, to certification and to professionalism in the discipline.

You can listen to an interview with Joyce through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here:
http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/littleJC-...

Here's a picture of the BlueJ and Greenfoot team at SIGCSE 2006: David Barnes, Michael Kölling, Poul Henriksen, Bruce Quig, Davin McCall, John Rosenberg, Matt Jadud, and Ian Utting:

At the 2006 Symposium the first Roundtable for Department Chairs was held on March 1st. Leading the effort were Sandra DeLoatch (Norfolk State University), Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan State University), and Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology).

SIGCSE and CSTA have worked to collaborate on areas of common interest. For example, Robb Cutler, CSTA Chair, and Chris Stephenson, CSTA Executive Director, gave the Friday keynote at SIGCSE 2006 on “Working Together to Improve K-12 Computer Science Education”.

The 9th Doctoral Consortium was held on March 1st co-located with the Symposium. Leading the DC this year were Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Orit Hazzan (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology). Discussants included Richard Anderson (University of Washington at Seattle), Philip East (University of Northern Iowa), and Josh Tenenberg (University of Washington, Tacoma). From Cecily Heiner we have a picture of the 2006 DC participants:

The 11th ITiCSE was held June 26-28, 2006 at the University of Bologna, Italy. Renzo Davoli (University of Bologna) was Conference Chair and Paola Salomoni (University of Bologna) and Michael Goldweber (Xavier University) served as Program Chairs. The conference had 195 submissions with 59 acceptances (30% acceptance rate). There were 197 attendees and 6 Working Groups.

Here's a picture of Ray Lister, Tony Clear, and Anders Berklund at ITiCSE 2006

The 2nd ICER was held September 9-10, 2006 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK. The Conference (and Program) Chairs were the initial triumvirate of Richard Anderson (University of Washington), Sally Fincher (University of Kent at Canterbury), and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology). There were 23 papers submitted with 13 accepted for a 57% acceptance rate. There were 53 attendees that second year.

Interestingly, the registration fee for ICER ‘06 included accommodations, breakfast, morning tea, buffet lunch, afternoon tea, and the conference dinner as well as the conference itself!

Here's a picture of Mark Guzdial, Allison Elliott Tew and Brian Dorn enjoy ICER:

An interesting tidbit on what the organization was up to during the year:

• During the spring (Northern Hemisphere), a new committee was formed: Committee on Models for Evaluating Faculty Scholarship. (Volume 38, Issue 2, June 2006 Inroads)
• Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism was a big topic of Volume 38, Issue 4, December 2006 Inroads

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2005

The 36th Technical Symposium was held February 23-27, 2005 in St. Louis, MO. The Conference Chairs were Wanda Dann (Ithaca College) and Tom Naps (University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh). The Program Chairs were Douglas Baldwin (SUNY at Geneseo) and Paul Tymann (Rochester Institute of Technology). There were 350 papers submitted with 104 accepted (32% acceptance rate). There were 1245 attendees.

This is the year that SIGCSE began sponsoring the Roundtable for Department Chairs.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Kim Bruce, for his innovative teaching methods, textbook authorship, leadership in Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium and its curricular recommendations to Curriculum 91 and Curriculum 2001.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Andrew McGettrick for his outstanding service and direction to the computing community in the UK and abroad. He is recognized for his membership on the ACM Education Board, membership and significant influence on CC2001 final report, author of the November 2000 Report on Benchmark Levels for Computing.

The 8th Doctoral Consortium was held February 23rd in St. Louis, MO and was led by Todd Stevens (Radford University) and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology).

The 10th ITiCSE was held June 27-29, 2005 at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. The Conference Co-Chairs were José C. Cunha (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) and William M. Fleishman (Villanova University). Program Co-Chairs were João M. Lourenço (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) and Viera K. Proulx (Northeastern University). It is not known how many papers were submitted, but 68 were accepted.

It was this year that the first International Conference on Computing Education Research was held. Recognizing the need for a venue explicitly for publishing Computing Education Research, SIGCSE sponsored this venue. The first workshop was held October 1-2, 2005 at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. The founders of the conference, and its first Conference Co-Chairs were Richard Anderson (University of Washington), Sally Fincher (University of Kent), and Mark Guzdial (Georgia Institute of Technology. There were 35 papers submitted with 16 being accepted (46% acceptance rate) and 56 people attended that first meeting.

The Volume 37, Issue 2, June 2005 of Inroads (The Bulletin) mailing included a wonderful CD entitled "Pathways: Women and Computing". This CD brought together material from the June 2002 issue of Inroads, articles from two issues of the IEEE Annals on the History of Computing, two articles from the Communications of the ACM, and several other papers. This CD represented SIGCSE's first venture into this medium (CD).

From the same issue, three SIGCSE Committees were discussed:

• The SIGCSE Committee on the Implementation of a Discrete Mathematics Course (on-going)
• The SIGCSE Committee on Expanding the Women-in-Computing Community (on-going)
• The SIGCSE Committee on Teaching Computer Science Research Methods (new)

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2004

The year is 2004 and we elected a new Board. Elected Chair was Henry Walker (Grinnell College). Elected Vice-Chair was Barbara Boucher Owens (Southwestern University). Sally Fincher (University of Kent) was elected Secretary and Vicki Almstrum (University of Texas at Austin) was elected Treasurer. Elected as At Large Board members were Dan Joyce (Villanova University), Renée McCauley (College of Charleston), Alison Young (Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland) and Brue Klein (Grand Valley State University) continued as Past Chair. The Bulletin Editor continued to be John Impagliazzo (Hofstra University).

The 35th Technical Symposium was held March 3-7, 2004 in Norfolk, VA. The Conference Chairs were Daniel Joyce (Villanova University) and Deborah Knox (The College of New Jersey). The Program Chairs were Wanda Dann (Ithaca College) and Tom Naps (University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh).

Dan Joyce provided this photo from Norfolk with the following story: "I took that from the stage during my "welcome to Norfolk" intro to the conference saying I promised my kids I would send them a picture of my friends. Included in the front you can see my co-chair Deb Knox and the Program Chairs Tom Naps and Wanda Dann."

There were 320 papers submitted, with 90 accepted (28% acceptance rate) and there were 1228 attendees.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Mordechai Ben-Ari for his contributions as a textbook author, mentor and pedagogical researcher at both the university and pre-college levels, in concurrency, formal methods, and programming languages. Moti couldn't attend the conference, so the keynote was actually delivered by Owen Astrachan (Duke University) and featured a great game of identifying people from their pictures.

You can listen to an interview with Moti through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/benAriM-o...

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Bruce Klein to recognize him for exemplary service to ACM, extraordinary commitment to SIGCSE, and mentoring of SIGCSE members. He served on ACM SIG Board task forces, the ACM Education Board, the SIGCSE Executive Board 2001 to 2007 as chair and past chair, was a past ITiCSE Conference and Technical Symposium chair, and multiple program committees.

The 7th Doctoral Consortium was held at SIGCSE on March 3rd in Norfolk, VA and the Chairs were Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan State University) and Todd Stevens (Radford University).

The 9th ITiCSE was held June 28-30, 2004 at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Roger Boyle (University of Leeds) was the Conference Chair. Martyn Clark (University of Leeds) and Amruth Kumar (Ramapo College of New Jersey) were the Program Co-Chairs. There were over 153 papers submitted with 46 accepted (

In Volume 36, Issue 2, June 2004 issue of The Bulletin, Chair Henry Walker wrote the following, most of which is still true today:

The SIGCSE Board formally approves event sites. For ITiCSE, interested SIGCSE members initiate proposals for holding conferences at their universities in Europe, and SIGCSE representatives .. work with local leaders to refine site details. In contrast, SIGCSE chooses locations for its symposia in the US through a bidding process, coordinated by ACM staff and a SIGCSE volunteer. For all events, the SIGCSE Board devotes considerable attention to finding appropriate facilities at costs that seem within reach of SIGCSE members. Unfortunately, this eliminates many initial proposals (particularly from hotels and convention centers at numerous well-known cities in the United States).

In the same issue is an interesting tribute to Anita Borg along with a transcript of an interview with her.

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2003

The 34th Technical Symposium was held February 19-23, 2003 at the Hilton in Reno, Nevada. The Conference Chair was Scott Grissom (Grand Valley State University). The Program Chairs were Daniel Joyce (Villanova University) and Deborah Knox (The College of New Jersey).
Here are the conference submission statistics:

234 papers submitted, 75 accepted 32% acceptance rate. Attendees: 1003.
Here is the remaining Conference Committee:
Panels: Ryan McFall (Hope College)
Special Sessions: Nancy Kinnersley (University of Kansas)
Workshops: Douglas Harms (DePauw University)
Publications: Wanda Dann (Ithaca College)
Registration: Cary Laxer and Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Faculty Posters: Rob Bryant (Gonzaga University)
Birds Of A Feather: Stephen Cooper (St. Joseph's University)
Student Volunteers and Student Activities: Tom Naps (University of Wisconsin -Oshkosh) & Jim Aman (Columbus School for Girls)
Treasurer: Paul Leidig (Grand Valley State University)
Database Administrator: Henry Walker (Grinnell College)
Local Arrangements: Yaakov L. Varol & Fritz Grupe (University of Nevada

• Reno), David Williams (Western Nevada Community College), Barry W. Pollack (Sierra Nevada College)
  ACM International Student Research Contest: Ann Sobel (Miami University of Ohio)
  Doctoral Consortium was headed up by Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan State University) and Joseph Chase (Radford University)

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Eric Roberts, a master teacher, advocate for computer science education, and emissary to underrepresented populations in computer science. He was the Principle editor and co-chair of the seminal document "Computing Curriculum 2001".

You can listen to an interview with Eric through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/robertsE-...
Eric's keynote was "Expanding the Audience for Computer Science"

Allan Fisher and Jane Margolis gave the other keynote on ."Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing".

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Harriet Taylor (now NSF officer!) for being a creative leader, researcher, supportive teacher. She was a past SIGCSE officer, representative to NECC, contributor to National Educational Technology Standards, UNESCO informatics curriculum, ISTE project for accreditation in technology for NCATE, the accreditation body for Colleges of Education, and chair or program chair of numerous other education related conferences.

The 8th ITiCSE conference was held at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece from June 30 - July 2,

1. Vassilios Dagdilelis and Maya Satratzemi (University of Macedonia) were Conference Co-Chairs and Roger Boyle (University of Leeds) and Georgios Evangelidis (University of Macedonia) were Program Co-Chairs. There were 129 papers submitted and 44 were accepted (34.1% acceptance rate) and 3 Working Groups. Sadly, I have no pictures from this ITiCSE.

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2002

The 33rd Technical Symposium was held February 27 - March 3, 2002 in Northern Kentucky, Southern Side of Cincinnati. The Conference Chairs were Judith Gersting (The University of Hawaii at Hilo) and Renee McCauley (The University of Charleston). The Program Chair was Scott Grissom (Grand Valley State University).

Here are the conference submission statistics:

This was the first year that the Technical Symposium broke 1000 in attendees with 1110 attendees. The rest of the Conference Committee was:

Publications Editor: Deborah Knox (The College of New Jersey)
Panels: Suzanne Westbrook (University of Arizona)
Special Sessions: Angela Shiflet (Wofford College)
Workshops: Douglas Harms (DePauw University)
Registration: Carey Laxer & Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Birds Of A Feather: Howard Whitston (Lawrence Tech University)
Faculty Posters: Craig Wills (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
Student Activities: Linda Null (Penn State Harrisburg)
Local Arrangements: Chuck Frank & Don Galli (Northern Kentucky University), Karen Davis (University of Cincinnati), Joseph D. Oldham (Georgetown College)
Student Volunteers: Becky Rutherfoord (Southern Polytechnic State University)
Database Administrator: Henry Walker (Grinnell College)
ACM International Student Research Contest: Ann Sobel (Miami University of Ohio)
Exhibits Liaison: Don Bailes (East Tennessee State University)
Secondary School Liaison: Bill Fritz (Sycamore High School)
Community College Liaison: Anne Applin (Pearl River Community College)
Conference Liaison: Max Hailperin (Gustavus Adolphus College)
Roommate Matching: Myles McNally (Alma College)
International Liaison: Ricardo Jimenez Peris (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain)
First-Timer Activities: Wayne J. Staats (Stetson University)
Evaluations: James Caristi (Valparasio University)
Doctoral Consortium was run by Joseph Chase (Radford University) and John Lewis (Villanova University).

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Elliot Soloway, a pioneering Computer Science Education researcher, master teacher, and eloquent spokesman for educational reform involving computing to our computing colleagues and the world at large.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to A. Joe Turner, for his dedication to students, colleagues and the profession both in the United States and abroad. He has been a Chair or officer in: ACM, ACM Education Board, Curriculum '91 Task Force, Computer Science Accreditation Board, IFIP Working Group 3.2 (University Informatics Education), National Educational Computing Association.

The ITiCSE 2002 in Aarhus, DK7th ITiCSE conference was held June 24-26, 2002 at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark. Michael E. Caspersen (Aarhus University) and Dan Joyce (Villanova University) were Conference Co-Chairs. Don Goelman (Villanova University) and Ian Utting (University of Kent) were Program Co-Chairs. There were over 100 papers submitted with 42 accepted and 5 Working Groups. Here are pictures from Michael Caspersen.

ITiCSE 2002 in Aarhus, DK

Niklaus Wirth and Kristen Nygaard, two Turing Award Winners and keynote speakers at ITiCSE 2002 (Kristen Nygaard passed away just six weeks later).

Georgios Evangelidis, Maya Satratzemi, Mike Goldweber, Bruce Klein, Dick Austing, and Ian Utting at ITiCSE 2002

Maya Satratzemi, Georgios Evangelidis, Christopher E. Caspersen, Michael E. Caspersen, David Gries, and Niklaus Wirth at ITiCSE 2002

Don Goelman and Mike Goldweber at ITiCSE 2002

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2001

The year is 2001 and this begins the shift to 3 year terms for our officers and we split the roles of Secretary and Treasurer. Elected this year were Henry Walker (Grinnell College) as Chair; Barbara Boucher Owens (Southwestern University) as Vice-Chair; Sally Fincher (Kent University) as Secretary; and Scott Grissom (Grand Valley State University) as Treasurer. Elected Board members were: Vicki Almstrum (University of Texas at Austin), Elizabeth Adams (James Madison University) and Jane Prey (University of Virginia). Bruce Klein (Grand Valley State University) continued on the Board as immediate past Chair. John Impagliazzo (Hofstra University) remained a the Editor of the Bulletin.

The 32nd Technical Symposium was held February 20-25, 2001 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Conference Chair was Henry Walker (Grinnell College). Program Chairs were Judith Gersting (The University of Hawaii at Hilo) and Renee McCauley (The University of Charleston). There were 225 papers submitted, with 78 accepted (35% acceptance rate). There were 993 attendees. The rest of the Conference Committee was:
Panels: Tim Long (Ohio State University)
Special Sessions: Wanda Dann & Check Leska (Ithaca College)
Workshops: Lisa Meeden (Swarthmore College)
Birds-of-a-Feather: Venu Dasigi (Southern Polytechnic State University)
Faculty Posters: Judith Williams (William Penn University)
ACM International Student Research Contest: Ann Sobel (Miami University)
Town Meeting Moderator: Sue Fitzgerald (Metropolitan State University)
Student Volunteers: Deborah Hwang (University of Evansville)
Proceedings: Ingrid Russell (University of Hartford)
Treasurer: Scott Grissom (Grand Valley State University)
Local Arrangements: Kent Foster (Winthrop University) and William Myers, Gireesh Gupta, Robert Lover, & William Davis (Belmont Abbey College)
Exhibits Liaison: Don Bailes (East Tennessee State University)
Exhibits Floor Manager: Tom D'Auria (Information Methods Incorporated)
Firswt-Timer Activities: Elizabeth Johnson (Xavier University)
Northern European Liaison: Jurgen Borstler (Umea University, Sweden)
Southern European Liaison: Ricardo Jimenez Peris (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain)
Asian/Australian Liaison: Tony Greening (The University of Sydney, Australia)
Community College Liaison: Donna Tupper (Community College of Baltimore County)
Secondary School Liaisons: Sarah Fix (Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools) & Rich Kick (Hinsdale Central High School)
Registration: Carey Laxer & Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Roommate Matching: Cathy Bareiss (Olivet Nazarene University)
Evaluation: William Marion (Valparaiso University)
Doctoral Consortium was run by John Lewis (Villanova University) and Vicki Alumstrum (University of Texas at Austin)

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Allen B. Tucker, an author in the areas of programming languages, natural language processing, and computer science education. He co-chaired the ACM/IEEE Joint Curriculum Task Force that developed Computing Curricula 1991,was a co-author of the 1986 Liberal Arts Model Curriculum in Computer Science, and was Editor-in-Chief of the 1997 CRC Handbook of Computer Science and Engineering.

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Lillian N. (Boots) Cassel, as a past chair of SIGCSE and its Technical Symposium, leader in computer science accreditation, tireless advocate for computer science education supporting both faculty and students. You can listen to an interview with Boots through the Computing Educators Oral History Project.

The ITiCSE conference was held June 24-30, 2001 at City University of Kent in Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom. Sally Fincher (University of Kent) and Bruce Klein (Grand Valley State University) were the Conference Co-Chairs. Fintan Culwin (South Bank University, UK) and Mike McCracken (Georgia Institute of Technology) were the Program Co-Chairs. There were 139 papers submitted with 43 accepted (30.9% acceptance rate) and 3 Working Groups.

Michael Caspersen provided the following pictures:

Dan Joyce and Michael E. Caspersen at ITiCSE 2001 (Co-chairs for ITiCSE2002)

John Impagliazzo at ITiCSE 2001

Bruce Klein at ITiCSE 2001

Michael Kölling and Bruce Klein at ITiCSE 2001

Cary Laxer and Henry Walker at ITiCSE 2001 (and behind, Dawn Cizmar and Dennis Bouvier)

Frank Young, Andrew Bernat, and Joe Bergin at ITiCSE 2001

Bruce Klein, Alison Young, and Dick Austing at ITiCSE 2001

Xristine Faulkner, Sally Fincher, and Ian Utting at ITiCSE 2001

Richard Rasala and Lew Hitchner, and a LEGO LOGO robot at ITiCSE 2001

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2000

The 1st Technical Symposium
was held March 8-12, 2000 at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin, TX. Conference Chairs were Lillian "Boots" Cassel (Villanova University) and Nell Dale (The University of Texas at Austin). Program Chair was Henry M. Walker (Grinnell College).
Here are the submission statistics:

The rest of the program committee consisted of:

Proceedings: Susan Haller (University of Wisconsin - Parkside)
Panels: Ursula Wolz (The College of New Jersey)
Seminars and Workshops: Deepak Kumar (Bryn Mawr College)
Birds Of A Feather: Liz Adams (James Madison University)
Faculty Posters: Dawn Cizmar (University of Texas at Austin)
Student Research: Ann Sobel (Miami University)
Exhibit Coordinator: Don Bailes (East Tennessee State University)
Student Volunteers: John Lewis (Villanova University)
Evaluation: Suzy Gallagher (University of Texas at Austin)
First Timers: Lisa Kaczmarczyk (University of Texas at Austin)
Treasurer: Dick Austing (Univ. of Maryland Univ. College, retired)
Registration: Frank Young & Cary Laxer (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Local Arrangements: Barbara B. Owens (Southwestern University)
Non-US Liaison: Chris McDonald (University of Western Australia)
Roommate Matching: Jim Aman (Columbus School for Girls) and Jim FitzSimmons (Wilmington College)
Industrial Liaison: Rich Brice (University of Texas at Austin)

There were 869 attendees.

Doctoral Consortium was again run by Vicki Almstrum (University of Texas at Austin) and Marian Petre (Open University). Pictures of Austin at the time can be found here, courtesy of Ching-Kuang Shene.
The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Andries van Dam, a prolific author, researcher , hypertext pioneer and a champion of computing education for many years and a founding faculty member of Brown University Computer Science Department.
The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to James Miller, tireless editor of the SIGCSE Bulletin 1982-1997.
The "5th ITiCSE " was held in Helsinki, Finland from July 10-14, 2000. Jorma Tarhio (University of Joensuu, Finland) was the Conference Chair. Sally Fincher (University of Kent) and Dan Joyce (Villanova University) were Program Co-Chairs. There were 115 papers submitted and 44 accepted (38.3% acceptance rate) and 6 Working Groups. Tips & Techniques were introduced to the program. Presenters represented 22 countries and 6 continents (no one from Antarctica) with over 160 attendees. Pictures from Dan Joyce:

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1999

The year is 1999 and our Board all agreed to extend their terms. Continuing in their roles were Chair Bruce Klein (Grand Valley State University), Vice-Chair Margaret Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology), and Secretary/Treasurer Henry M. Walker (Grinnell College). Elected Board members were Barbara Boucher Owens (St. Edward's University), Eric S. Roberts (Stanford University) and Gordon Davies (Open University). Lillian N. (Boots) Cassel served on the Board as immediate past Chair. John Impagliazzo (Hofstra University) continued as the Bulletin Editor.

The 30th Technical Symposium was held March 24-28, 1999 in New Orleans, LA. The Conference Chair was Jane Prey (University of Virginia). Program Chair was Bob Noonan (College of William and Mary). There were 925 attendees. Here are the submission statistics:

The rest of the Program Committee:

Panels: Mike Clancy (University of California - Berkeley)
Seminars and BOF: Ingrid Russell (University of Hartford)
Workshops: Doug Baldwin (SUNY Geneseo)
Proceedings: Dan Joyce (Villanova University)
Student Posters: Ann Sobel (Miami University) and Mario Guimaraes (Texas A&M University)
Local Arrangements: Jim Jennings (Tulane University)
1st Timers Activities: Paul Leidig (Grand Valley University)
Exhibits: Don Bailes (East Tennessee State University)
Treasurer: Mark Lattanzi (James Madison University)
Registration: Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Evaluation: Merry McDonald (Northwest Missouri State University)
Student Volunteers: Jim Aman (Wilmington College)
Doctoral Consortium was again run by Vicki Almstrum (University of Texas at Austin) and Marian Petre (Open University)

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Peter Denning, for his efforts in developing a scientific core for operating systems, in formulating a curriculum through the "Denning Report", and in elucidating Computer Science to the broader scientific community. His keynote address was
"Computing the Profession".

The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Bob Aiken, for his service to SIGCSE, ACM-IFIPS, leader of several Computer Science People-to-People exchanges, dedicated mentor, and advocate for computer science in education both in the US and abroad.

The 4th ITiCSE (now Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Eduation) was held in Cracow, Poland on June 27 - July 1, 1999. Carl Erickson (Grand Valley State University) and Tadeusz Wilusz (Cracow University) were Conference Co-Chairs. Mats Daniels (Uppsala University) and Renee McCauley (University of Southwestern Louisiana) were Program Co-Chairs. There were 86 papers submitted and 44 accepted (51% acceptance rate). Accepted papers represented 21 different countries. There were 4 Working Groups along with the introduction of posters and tutorials and approximately 150 attendees. Pictures courtesy of Dan Joyce:

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1998

The 29th Technical Symposium was held February 25 - March 1, 1998 in Atlanta, GA. From The Bulletin Volume 30 Issue 1, March 1998:


There were 901 attendees at the Technical Symposium in 1998.
The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to William Wulf, for his contributions to the advancement of Computer Science Education in engineering.
The Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education was awarded to Della Bonnette, a past chair of SIGCSE and Technical Symposium chair and editor of the SIGCSE bulletin, and for her leadership in accreditation including chairing CSAC, years on CSAB Board of Directors, ACM SIG Board, and area director.
SIGCSE '98 introduced several new features. As documented in the welcome in the proceedings (The Bulletin Volume 30 Issue 1, March 1998):

The conference activities were extended to Saturday, as many attendees requested in the past. The SIGCSE Town Meeting was held on Saturday morning, is a new event this year which gave everyone an opportunity to express their thoughts on the future of computing education. The student poster competition became part of the official program and specific events for first time attendees of the conference were held to ensure that they feel the camaraderie of the SIGCSE community. Workshops and posters were also published ( https://portalparts.acm.org/280000/274790/bm/backmatter.pdf?ip=174.74.49.67).

On Wednesday, the day before the conference officially began, the first ever Doctoral Consortium was held. Vicki Almstrum (University of Texas at Austin) and Marian Petre (Open University) ran the first DC. The aims of the Doctoral Consortium were:

• To offer a friendly forum for students to discuss their work and receive constructive feedback.
• To offer relevant information on issues important to doctoral candidates.
• To nurture a community of researchers.

The Consortium was designed for Ph.D. students in any area of Computing who plan to have a career in academia. All participants gave short presentations of their research ideas or ongoing research. Small group discussions, a round-table discussion, and presentations by specialists in the field allowed participants to exchange ideas, explore relevant issues, discuss strategies for completion, and prepare for the challenges of an effective career in higher education. Some notable attendees of that first Doctoral Consortium included Anders Berglund, Christina Björkman, and Mats Daniels (Uppsala University), Lisa Kaczmarczyk (Chemeketa Community College), and Laurie Williams (University of Utah).

The 3rd ITiCSE was held at Dublin City University in Ireland, in cooperation with SIGCUE and in conjunction with the 6th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Computing. Gordon Davies (Open University) and Mícheál O hÉigeartaigh (Dublin City University) were Conference Co-Chairs. Mats Daniels (Uppsala University) was Program Chair and Dan Joyce (Villanova University) was Working Groups Coordinator. There were more than 200 attendees. There were 59 papers accepted and 5 Working Groups. Thanks to Dan Joyce we have the following pictures:



Speaking of Working groups, there is a website created by Vicki Almstrum ( http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/csed/iticse/iticse-by-year.html) that has a list of all the working groups from 1996 - 2003, including pictures!

Inroads was officially introduced (https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=292422) ( https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=292422). From Volume 30 Issue 2, June 1998: "SIGCSE has renewed its cooperation with NECC, but in a limited capacity. NECA, the coordinating group for NECC, changed its bylaws to permit organizational members in a non-voting capacity. We have chosen to join in this way. It means that we still can participate in NECC planning, while not being required to provide sessions or speakers. … The SIGCSE email distribution list has more than 600 recipients and traffic is quite heavy at times." In addition, the Working Group reports from ITiCSE were published in the December 1998 issue of Inroads.

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1997

The year is 1997 and the organization elected another Board which served for 2 terms. The Chair was Bruce Klein (Grand Valley State University), Vice-Chair was Margaret Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology), and the Secretary/Treasurer was Henry M. Walker (Grinnell College). Elected Board members were Barbara Boucher Owens (St. Edward's University), Eric S. Roberts (Stanford University) and Gordon Davies (Open University). Lillian N. (Boots) Cassel served on the Board as immediate past Chair. John Impagliazzo (Hofstra University) continued as the Bulletin Editor.

The 28th Technical Symposium was held February 27 - March 1, 1997 in San Jose, CA. The Conference Chair was Curt White (Rosary College); Program Co-Chairs were Carl Erickson (Grand Valley State University) and Bruce Klein (Grand Valley State University). There were 177 papers submitted with 75 accepted (42% acceptance rate) and 630 attendees.

This was the last SIGCSE to be held jointly with the CSC (25th CSC). Thanks to Bob Beck for these notes and Vicki Almstrum for passing this along.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Andrew Tannenbaum for seminal textbooks in networks, computer organization and operating systems, outstanding wit and educational leadership.

It was in 1997 that the SIGCSE Award for Lifetime Service to the Computer Science Education Community was established. This award honors an individual who has a long history of volunteer service to the computer science education community. The service is not limited to SIGCSE service and may take many forms, such as professional society leadership, conference organization, outreach efforts, editorial board participation, or any of a number of other types of service to the computer science education community. The award may recognize service at any level (K-12, college, graduate, or continuing post-college).

The First Lifetime Service to Computer Science Education Award was bestowed upon Dick Austing who was editor on several curriculum recommendation documents in almost every area of computer science, including Curriculum '78, 2-year Task Force Report. He also served as registrar for many SIGCSE conferences both before and after computerized registration. He served as the SIGCSE Technical Symposium chair and was a founding ACM Fellow.

You can listen to an interview with Dick through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/austingR-overview.html.

The 2nd ITiCSE conference was held in Uppsala, Sweden on June 2-4, 1997. Lillian N. Cassel (Villanova University) and Mats Daniels (Uppsala University) were the Conference Co-Chairs. There were 123 papers submitted with 43 accepted (34.1% acceptance rate). There were 7 Working Groups. Here's a picture of one of the working groups from Dan Joyce:

As proof of the international growth of the organization, from the June 1997 Bulletin (Vol. 29, Issue 2):

The other very exciting thing that happened in 1997, The Bulletin officially acquired a new theme: Inroads, as well as the familiar format we're now used to for Inroads, including the columns (Vol 29, Issue 4, Dec. 1997):

And we acquired Editor Emeriti (ibid):

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1996

From Vol 26, Issue 3, Sept. 1994 Bulletin:

This year marks the beginning of the ITiCSE Conference (Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education). It has been held annually since, usually in late June or early July. This conference brings together delegates from all over the world to address pressing issues in computing education. In addition to invited lectures, paper, panel, poster and "tips & techniques" sessions, the conference provides facilities and exposure for working groups of up to ten members, whose final reports may be published by SIGCSE. Exhibits and tutorials are also offered. Plus good food, good company and interesting locales. If you have never been to an ITiCSE, do yourself a favor and go. You will not regret it!

The typical ITiCSE Schedule:

• Saturday Working groups arrive and meet
• Sunday Working groups meet, delegates arrive, opening reception
• Monday Conference opening, Keynote speech, followed by a full day of sessions
• Tuesday A.M.: Plenary meeting followed by sessions
• Tuesday P.M.: Tourist excursion(s)
• Tuesday Evening: Conference Dinner
• Wednesday Plenary meeting followed by a full day of sessions
• Poster sessions at coffee breaks Monday through Wednesday.

The first ITiCSE was held in Barcelona, Spain on June 2-5, 1996. Lillian N Cassel (Villanova University) and Jim Hightower (California State University at Fullerton) were the Co-Conference Chairs. There were 46 papers accepted and there were 5 Working Groups. Here we have a picture of the Working Group on Labs from Dan Joyce:

27th Technical Symposium was held February 15-18, 1996 in Philadelphia, PA. Conference Chair: John Impagliazzo (Hofstra University); Program Chair: Elizabeth Adams (Richard Stockton College). Panels Chair was Joan S. Langdon (Bowie State University). Henry M. Walker (Grinnell College) served as Seminars Chair. Workshops Chair was Margaret M. Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology). Posters Chair was Nancy L. Hagelgans (Ursinus College). Birds of a Feather Chair was Steve Drasner (Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale). Karl J. Klee (Jamestown Community College) was the Proceedings Editor and Local Arrangements were handled by Elliot B. Koffman (Temple University). The Evaluations Chair was Linda Hayden (Elizabeth City State College) and Patricia A. Woodworth (Ithaca College) served as the Treasurer while Mats Daniels (Uppsala University) was the International Coordinator. There were 205 papers submitted and 78 accepted (38% acceptance rate). 23 panels were submitted with 16 accepted (69% acceptance rate). 13 seminars were submitted with 9 accepted (69% acceptance rate). 24 workshops submitted with 16 accepted (66% acceptance rate). There were 20 posters and 6 BOFs with 795 attendees.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Nell Dale, for being a prolific author for introductory computer science textbooks and contributions to the field of computer science education research. Her keynote was entitled "Research in Computer Science Education: Five Case Studies."

You can listen to an interview with Nell Dale through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here:
http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/daleN-overview.html

The other keynote at the Technical Symposium that year was presented by John A.N. Lee: "The Forgotten Tool of Computer Science Education--History". Other interesting facts about the 1996 Technical Symposium (thanks to John Impagliazzo):

• It was the Launch of ACM 50th anniversary.
• Extended workshops to Sunday morning.
• First time BOFs were published in the proceedings.
• Featured a chess match between Kasparov and IBM Deep Blue.
• The reception on Thursday night featured carving stations and classical music - harp, violin, and piano.

There were also some unexpected difficulties associated with the Symposium. A snow storm disrupted arrivals on Thursday and Friday. On Tuesday, Symposium Chair John Impagliazzo was notified that Vice President Al Gore was to do the symbolic start of the ENIAC. We were told to evacuate three floors at the Marriott Wednesday and Thursday without alternative housing for SIGCSE people. Panic mode set in! Fortunately, Al Gore cancelled Wednesday morning. Phew! John shared his hotel room with others due to flight cancellations because of the snow. And Nell Dale had her first snowball fight with John, and won :-)

The proceedings for the conferences actually took up 2 issues of The Bulletin (Volume 23, Issue 1, March 1996) for the Technical Symposium Proceedings and Volume 28, Issue Special Issue for the ITiCSE ‘96 proceedings which included posters and demonstrations.

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1995

The year is 1995 and our Board from 1993 continued as ACM allowed SIG officers to extend their term another 2 years if they wished, without an election. Our Board all wished to extend: Chair: Lillian "Boots" Cassel (Villanova University); Vice-Chair: G. Michael Schneider (Macalester College); Secretary/Treasurer: Henry Walker (Grinnell College); Board: Janet Hartman (US Air Force Academy), Margaret Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology) and, J. Paul Myers (Trinity College). James Miller (University of Southern Mississippi) continued at the Bulletin Editor.

The 26th Technical Symposium was held March 2-4 (3 days!), 1995 in Nashville, TN at the Opryland Hotel Complex. The Conference Chairs were Cary Laxer (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Frank Young (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology). Yes, that's right they were the program chairs just 2 years earlier! They must have really enjoyed the job given the fact they signed up again so quickly! The Program Chair was Judith Gersting (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis / University of Hawaii at Hilo). There were 215 papers submitted with 75 accepted (35% acceptance rate) as well as 24 panels and 3 tutorials.

An interesting fact from this Technical Symposium: SIGCSE members wearing conference badges were constantly accosted by tourists because they thought "ACM" was the Academy of Country Music!

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Robert Aiken, for being an outstanding mentor, advocate of computer science and contributions to technology education both in the United States and abroad.

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1994

The 25th Technical Symposium was held March 10-11, 1994 in Phoenix, AZ at the Phoenix Convention Center. The Conference Chair was Robert Beck (Villanova University) and the Program Chair was Don Goelman (Villanova University). Panels were chaired by Elizabeth S. Adams (Hood College). Tutorials and Workshops were chaired by Henry M. Walker (Grinnell College). Birds of a Feather was chaired by Samuel J. Wiley (LaSalle University). Posters were chaired by Nancy L. Hagelgans (Ursinus College). Additional conference committee members were Carol Barner (Glendale Community College) for Publicity, Dan Joyce (Villanova University) for the Proceedings, John Lewis (Villanova University) was the Treasurer and David C. Platt (Mesa Community College) handled Local Arrangements.

A total of 75 papers were accepted along with 28 panels and 15 posters. The keynotes were given by Norman E. Gibbs (Carnegie Mellon University) talking about “Computer Science Education: Past, Present, Future” and William H. Graves (UNC Chapel Hill) spoke on “Learning Productivity: Medium and Message.”

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Norman Gibbs (Carnegie Mellon University) for his contribution to Software Engineering Education, being the first director of the Software Engineering Institute, and co-founder of the Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium.

From Vol 26, Issue 3, Sept. 1994 Bulletin contains the first mention of “electronic messages sent to the SIGCSE members,” the origination of our listserv!

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1993

In the elections of 1993, Lillian "Boots" Cassel (Villanova University) was elected Chair, G. Michael Schneider (Macalester College) became Vice-Chair and Henry Walker (Grinnell College) became the Secretary/Treasurer. Elected Board members were Janet Hartman (US Air Force Academy), Margaret Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology) and, J. Paul Myers (Trinity University in San Antonio). James Miller (University of Southern Mississippi) continued at the Bulletin Editor.

The 24th Technical Symposium was held February 18-19, 1993 in Indianapolis, IN at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Conference Chair was Bruce J. Klein (Grand Valley State University). Program Chairs were Cary Laxer and Frank Young (both from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology). Panels were overseen by Margaret Reek (Rochester Institute of Technology). Workshops were handled by G. Michael Schneider (Macalaster College) and Paul Carter (University of British Columbia). Birds of a Feather were chaired by Kenneth Johnson (Grand Valley State University). The conference Treasurer was Paul Jorgensen (Grand Valley State University) and Evaluations were done by Paul Leidig (Grand Valley State University). Anyone else notice the pattern between having a Technical Symposium leadership position and then being elected to the Board?

There were 204 papers submitted and 60 were accepted for 29.4% acceptance rate (!). There were also 24 panels, 3 tutorials, and 11 workshops. Because of the increase in submissions, the Board voted to expand the program to add an additional paper track for the following year.

The keynotes that year were given by Alan Kay and Elliot Soloway. Elliot's talk was entitled “Should Non-CS Majors Learn Programming?” (How prophetic!)

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Alan Kay (Apple Computer) for his contributions to Smalltalk programming languages, and research development of computers usable by children.

We might consider this to be the year of addressing female underrepresentation in computing. There were many conference and Bulletin articles on the subject.

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1992

The 23rd Technical Symposium held March 5-6, 1992 in Kansas City, MO with the theme “Networking for Knowledge.” The Conference Chair was Maynard J. Mansfield (Indiana University - Purdue University at Fort Wayne). The Program Chairs were Curt M. White (Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne) and Janet Hartman (Illinois State University Program). Cary Laxer (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) headed up the Panels and Ken Modesitt (Western Kentucky University) oversaw Workshops. Larry Cottrell (University of Central Florida) oversaw the Birds of a Feather. Bob Barett (Indiana/Purdue University at Fort Wayne) was the Treasurer and Anne Pierce (Georgia Southern University) handled Evaluations.

There were 60 papers accepted along with 20 panels and 8 posters. There were 702 attendees.

Keynotes were delivered by Daniel D. McCracken (City College of New York) “On Programming Languages in the Computer Science Curriculum” and Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin) “My Vision is Your Vision.” Other interesting tidbits from this conference: there were 6 concurrent sessions and the first “official” SIGCSE Social on Thursday night of the conference occurred. Before this conference it was considered a private party and not part of the official conference program. With this conference it officially became part of the conference.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to Daniel McCracken, author of numerous best-selling books on Fortran, COBOL and other languages and for their profound influence on current computer science teachers.

You can listen to an interview with Dan through the Computing Educators Oral History Project here: http://ahab.southwestern.edu/departments/mathcompsci/OHProject/mccrackenD-overview.html.

The June 1992 issue of The Bulletin (Volume 24, Issue 2) contains information on the 1991 ACM Scholastic Programming Contest Finals (Stanford won). This was the first contest to break the “sneaker-net” barrier (program submissions over a network vs. disks)!

In The December 1992 issue of The Bulletin (Volume 24, Issue 4, doi 10.1145/141837.141838) Chair Nell Dale presents the results of the 6 page membership survey conducted earlier in the year. Interesting to me was that 49% of the responses indicated that SIGCSE should “actively recruit high school teachers who teach APCS.” The survey also included questions about SIGCSE sponsoring activities outside the US…foreshadowing of the ITiCSE conference! Also, check out the responses to areas of research:

Another topic brought up in the survey was what SIGCSE could do to add validity to research in Computer Science Education. Evidence of our growing pains.

Where were you in 1992? Are you represented here:

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1991

Did you know that the current ACM President was once a SIGCSE officer?? Yep!

Elections were held in 1991 and we elected the following: Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin) was elected Chair, Lillian ("Boots") Cassel (Villanova University) was elected Vice-Chair; and Harriet Taylor (Louisiana State University) was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Elected Board members were Steve Cunningham (California State University, Stanislaus), Cherri Pancake (Auburn University), and Angela Shiflet (Wofford College). The Bulletin Editor continued to be James Miller (University of Southern Mississippi).

The 22nd Technical Symposium held March 7-8, 1991 in San Antonio, TX at the San Antonio Convention Center. The Conference Chair was Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin). The Program Chairs were John and Laurie Werth (The University of Texas at Austin). Panels and Special Sessions were chaired by Daniel Canas (Wake Forest University). Workshops were chaired by Henry Walker (Grinnell College). Birds of a Feather were chaired by Joyce Brennan (University of Texas at Austin). Treasurer for the conference was Chris Edmondson-Yurkanan (University of Texas at Austin) and Local Arrangements were handled by Suzy Gallagher (University of Texas at Austin) and J. Paul Myers (Trinity University).

There were 175 papers submitted, and 60 accepted for 34.3% acceptance rate. There were 11 panels, 1 special session and 43 posters. Attendance for the conference was 734.

The theme for the conference was “Education, Research, Industry: Keep the Information Flowing.” Key notes were given by David Gries (Cornell University) and William Wulf (University of Virginia).

The Friday luncheon was held again, with over 400 people in attendance (Bulletin, Volume 23, Issue 2, June 1991). This article, by out-going chair Elliot Koffman also mentions the growth of the Saturday workshops. The dues for the following year were increased to $16.50. SIGCSE Membership was, and still is, a bargain!

In the December, 1991 issue of The Bulletin (Volume 23, Issue 4), new Chair Nell Dale noted that SIGCSE had the highest member retention rate (92%) of any of the ACM SIGs! SIGCSE had approximately 2600 members. This issue also includes detailed minutes of several Board Meetings.

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1990

In 1990 we celebrated the 21st birthday of SIGCSE along with our 21st Technical Symposium. We celebrated February 22-23 in Washington, DC at the Sheraton Washington Hotel. The Conference theme was “From Generation to Generation.” The Conference Co-Chairs were Richard H. Austing (University of Maryland) and Lillian N. Cassel (Villanova University). It was held in conjunction with the ACM CSC (February 20-22) and Post Symposium Workshops were held on February 24th. The Program Chair was Gayle Yaverbaum (Temple University) for Papers. Harriet Taylor (Louisiana State University) chaired Panels, Tutorials, Case Studies; Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University) chaired Special Events; Donald Gotterbarn (Wichita State) and James Swanson (New Hampshire College) chaired the Birds of a Feather sessions; Dan Joyce (Villanova University) headed up Publications and Local Arrangements were handled by Elizabeth Adams (American University) and Pat Woodworth (Ithaca College). This is the beginning of our current Conference Committee format.

Here’s part of the advertisement I found in the Bulletin (Volume 21, Issue 4, Dec. 1989):

There were 120 papers submitted, 52 accepted, for a 43.3% acceptance rate. There were 17 panels, 3 tutorials and 3 workshops listed in the final proceedings. A total of 756 people attended. This was the first year of the Friday luncheon – which we’ve had ever since at the Technical Symposium.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education Award was given to the Curriculum '68 Committee (William F. Atchison, Chair; Samuel D. Conte, John W. Hamblen, Thomas E. Hull, Thomas A. Keenan, William B. Kehl, Edward J. McCluskey, Silvio O. Navarro, Werner C. Rheinboldt, Earl J. Schweppe, William Viavant, David M. Young, Jr.)

For their work on the seminal document leading the way for the founding of a multitude of computer science departments and providing guidance to the formation of courses and production of textbooks.

There were two key notes: William Atchison gave one entitled “Revisting our Roots: Curriculum ‘68 and Beyond” and Robert M Aiken and James Adams gave one entitled “Coming of Age”.

In the September, 1990 (Volume 22, Issue 3) of The Bulletin, the Karl V. Karlstrom Award for the Outstanding Educator in Computer Science Award was announced.

In the December, 1990 (Volume 22, Issue 4) of The Bulletin, the 1990 ACM Scholastic Programming Contest Finals sponsored by AT&T Computer Systems is highlighted including the winning teams (University of Otago New Zealand won), the computing specifications (each team was provided with its own AT&T 6386 WorkGroup System, only Pascal solutions allowed) and the problems. Check out this link if you’re interested.

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1989

It is 1989 and the 20th Technical Symposium (still joint with ACM Computer Science Conference) was held February 21-23 at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, KY. The SIGCSE theme was “Racing to the Future”.

The Conference Chair was John Gorgone (Bentley College). Maynard Mansfield and Robert Barrett (both from Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne) served as Program Co-Chairs. John Schrage (Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville) was Chair of Panels; Don Chand (Bentley College) was Chair for Case Studies and Tutorials; Dennis Anderson (Bentley College) was Treasurer; and S. Srinivasan helped with Local Arrangements.

A total of 181 papers were submitted with 60 accepted (33% acceptance rate) and there were 14 panels and 2 workshops.

The 1989 Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was awarded to Edsger Dijkstra for providing clarity about programs through his letter "GOTO Considered Harmful" and writings on structured programming and the effects of these works on the emergence of formal methods as integral to computer science education.

There were also elections, but the entire same Board was elected, so they must have been doing an excellent job! Continuing as Chair was Elliot Koffman (Temple University); Vice-Chair was Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin); Secretary/Treasurer was Robert Cupper (Allegheny College). The Board of Directors continued to be: Lillian Cassel (Villanova University), A. Joe Turner (Clemson University), and Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University).

James Miller (University of Southern Mississippi) continued as the Editor of the Bulletin.

From the Volume 21, Issue 4, December 1989 Bulletin:

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1988

The year is 1988 and the 19th Technical Symposium was held in Atlanta, GA at the Westin Peachtree Plaza on February 25-26. The Conference Chair was Betty Jehn (University of Dayton) and the Program Chair was Herb Dershem (Hope College). Angela Shiflet (Wofford College) served as the Panels Chair and Verlynda Dobbs (Wright State University) served as the Treasurer for the conference.

Here's the breakdown for the submissions for the year:

Papers: 63 accepted, 171 submitted, acceptance rate of 37%. 15 panels accepted 2 tutorials accepted:

The 1988 Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was awarded to Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper for her pioneering work in compiler design (Cobol), her efforts to oversee the Navy's efforts to maintain uniformity in programming languages over two decades, and a master teacher who reminded us to watch our nanoseconds.

We have this story from Elliot Koffman, then Chair of SIGCSE:

I spent an unforgettable morning with Joyce (Little Currie) interviewing Grace Murray Hopper prior to her receiving the SIGCSE award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education. She was unable to attend the meeting to receive the award for health reasons but we played the video tape of the interview and it was very well received. Many copies of the tape were requested and sent to CS and Info Sci departments after the meeting.

Elliot thinks he has a copy of the Grace Murray Hopper interview video, but is unable to get it to eject from his VCR. If someone else has an old copy, please let me know - this is definitely something we would want to transfer to digital to have for posterity!

In the Volume 20, Issue 2, June 1988 Bulletin was a financial report that listed the SIGCSE membership at 2,521 members!

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1987

In 1987 the 18th Technical Symposium was held February 19-20 in St. Louis, MO. The Conference Chair was Dan St. Clair (University of Missouri at Rolla Graduate Center). A.K. Rigler (University of Missouri at Rollla) served as Program Chair and Robert A. Barrett (Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne) was the BOF and Special Sessions Chair. A total of 93 papers were accepted (a big jump from the previous year’s 51!).

The 1987 Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was awarded to Niklaus Wirth for the development of a series of programming languages mainly for use in education chief among them Pascal. These languages continue to have a profound effect on the teaching of programming and on computer science in general.

We also held elections. Elected as Chair was Elliot Koffman (Temple University); Vice-Chair was Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin); Secretary/Treasurer was Robert Cupper (Allegheny College). The Board of Directors elected were the same from the previous board: Lillian Cassel (Villanova University), A. Joe Turner (Clemson University), and Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University).

Della Bonnette would have rotated to the Past President position. A quick Google search reveals that she was on a SIGCSE panel in 2000 talking about ABET and is still involved with ABET/CSAB.

James Miller (University of Southern Mississippi) continued as the Editor of the Bulletin. Sadly, 1987 also marked the end of the “President’s Notes” in the Bulletin which has been the source of a lot of great information!

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1986

In 1986 the 17th Technical Symposium was held February 6-7 in Cincinnati, OH at the Clarion Hotel. The Conference Chair was Richard H. Austing (University of Maryland). The Program Chairs were Joyce Currie Little (Towson State Univ) and Lillian N. Cassel (University of Delaware). Bruce J. and Georgianna T. Klein (Grand Valley State College) served as the Special Sessions Chairs. Over 100 papers were submitted and 51 were accepted. A fun fact about this Technical Symposium – it included a German Festival!

Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was awarded to Donald Knuth for authoring the influential series the "Art of Computer Programming" and his continuing contributions including TeX publication tool. His keynote talk was entitled “Theory and Practice” and was delivered before approximately 1000 attendees of the joint ACM Computer Science / SIGCSE Conference.

Here’s a story about John Impagliazzo’s initial foray into SIGCSE:\

I only got involved with SIGCSE in the mid-1980s when Joyce Currie Little dragged me to the Thursday evening celebration and made me (forced me to) dance with many of the SIGCSE dignitaries (Boots, Della, Nell, Joyce, etc.) at the SIGCSE (German) Symposium in Cincinnati. I happened to sit between Jim Miller (SIGCSE Bulletin EIC) and Nell Dale. The rest is history. Dick Austing had something to do with all this also.

We are thankful those SIGCSE dignitaries roped you in!

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1985

In 1985 we elected new officers: Della Bonnette (University of Southwestern Louisiana) for Chair, Elliott Koffman (Temple University) for Vice-Chair, Robert Cupper (Allegheny College) for Secretary/Treasurer. The At-Large members elected were Lillian Cassel (Goldey Beacom College), A. Joe Turner (Clemson University), and Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University).

James Miller (University of West Florida) continued as Bulletin Editor. Here’s an idea of what submissions were like (from the Volume 17 Issue 2, June 1985 Bulletin):
At present most accepted papers are retyped on a word processor. We are attempting to standardize the format to single-spaced, double Column copy in prestige elite typeface, with 10 characters/inch, with 42 characters/line, and with right and left margin justification. Single column format is 89 characters/line.
We then print them on standard white computer paper and do a "cut-and-paste" layout on camera-ready matte sheets which are photographically reduced 25 percent. … Copy may be typed directly on the sheets and is correctable with Snopake, or you can use cut-and-paste.
I will ask you to send any graphs, tables, or figures in camera-ready form and to remember that the 25 percent reduction may reduce their effectiveness. Small illustrations may be drawn directly on the matte sheets with a black felt-tipped pen or attached with rubber cement.

The 16th Technical Symposium was held March 12-14, 1985 in New Orleans, LA at the Marriott Hotel. The Conference Chair was Della T. Bonnette (University of Southwest Louisiana). The Program Chair was Harriet G. Taylor (Louisiana State University) and Nell Dale (University of Texas Austin) served as the Special Sessions Chair. A total of 68 papers were accepted. The proceedings are in the first issue of the Bulletin for

1. Interesting for me, I think I found the first work on cognition in programming at SIGCSE:

COGNITIVE PROCESSES IN PROGRAMMING MODERATOR: Laurie Werth (UNLV)

This panel will discuss (a) the cognitive processes used in computer programming (b) how to use these processes in teaching computer science. Laurie Werth will introduce the panel members and give a brief background of work in this area. A short review of studies predicting success in beginning computer science classes, as well as copies of two computer science placement examinations, will be available as handouts.
Barry Kurtz (New Mexico State) will briefly describe Piaget's intellectual development levels and a computer science test which he has designed to measure the correspondence between Piaget's levels and success in a beginning programming class. Dave Scanlan (Illinois State) will discuss the differences between right and left brain cognitive abilities and the need for tapping right brain abilities in teaching computer science. Saj-nicole Joni (Yale University) will present a brief overview of the cognitive methodology used in cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence research. Using the programming knowledge which has been identified, she will present some ideas on helping novice programmers to correct non-buggy programs. Jeff Bonar (University of Pittsburgh) will discuss cognitive elements in programming which he has measured and then explain a plan-based intelligent tutoring environment which he developed for beginning programmers.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was awarded to Elliot Organick. He was given the award as the Founder of SIGCSE, author and disseminator of the MULTICS operating system, and author of several widely disseminated textbooks in programming languages and first computer courses.

Here’s another great story from Frank Friedman:\

I am not sure when this happened, but probably the early 80s. I was the Allegheny Regional Rep to ACM Council when we had several naming discussions for our dear old Association, principally because of concerns that the word Machinery was in the name. So in my quarterly newsletter to ACM Members in the Allegheny Region and wrote a little blurb about this discussion and asked for member feedback concerning the name. I got only three responses which right there told me what I needed to know. But all three responses pretty much asked whether Council had better things to do. And two of the three changed my name from Frank to Fred.

And that was that. Now I have two names.

Frank er, I mean Fred

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1984

The 15th Technical Symposium was held February 16-17, 1984 in Philadelphia, PA at the Franklin Plaza Hotel. The Chair was Richard H. Austing (University of Maryland). Joyce Currie Little (Towson State University) served as the Refereed Papers Chair and Lillian N. Cassel (Goldey Beacom College) served as the Special Sessions Chair. There were 94 papers submitted and 36 were accepted (38% acceptance rate). There were 8 panels and 2 special sessions. The conference luncheon featured the awards being given to the winners of the final round of the Eighth Annual International Scholastic Programming Contest and to the second recipient of the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award. The invited speaker at the luncheon was Dr. Gwen Bell of The Computer Museum of Boston.

The conference was held jointly with the CSC and our own Frank Friedman was the General Chairperson of the CSC that year! According to Frank: “Most of the CSC Committee were women and they were REALLY GOOD people. They were the brains behind the operation and they did all the work. I just scheduled meetings, they basically ran the show.”

Interestingly, the keynotes for the CSC were also computing education related:

• Daniel D. McCracken: A Skeptical View of Computer Literacy
• Mary Shaw: Goals for Computer Science Education in the 1980's

Because Frank was the CSC Chair that year, he was able to provide the following pictures:

Dennis Kafura and VPI Programming Team

Frank Friedman emceeing the luncheon

Dick Austing (standing) with Gwen Bell in front of the podium, Frank Friedman, and Joyce Currie Little

And my personal favorite (illustrating how much fun was had):

Ruth Barton with the “famous” gorilla

Unfortunately, I found no record of the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education for 1983. Frank sent this picture of Marshall Yovits presenting Orrin Taulbee with an ACM award, but I don’t think it’s ours:

In addition, I found this in the September 1984 Bulletin:

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1983

In February 17-18, 1983 the 14th Technical Symposium was held in Orlando, FL. The Conference Chair was Larry Cottrell (University of Central Florida). The Program Chairs were A. Joe Turner (Clemson University) and Sheau-Dong Lang (University of Central Florida). There were 84 papers submitted with 59 accepted, yielding a 70.2% acceptance rate.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education was awarded to Karl Karlstrom (Prentice-Hall) for being a book editor who piloted some 500 books on computer science through the publication process at a time when a senior editor said, "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." If you want to read his remarks, check out the June 1983 issue of the Bulletin https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=382188. This issue also contains the 1983 International Programming Contest problems.

In that same June issue of the Bulletin, a list of the places where the Bulletin was mailed was presented:

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1982

James Miller (University of West Florida) began his first of eight terms as the Bulletin Editor.

On February 11-12, 1982 the 13th Technical Symposium was held in Indianapolis, IN. The Conference Chair was John Dalphin, (Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne). The Program Chairs were Robert A. Barrett (Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne) and John T. Gorgone (Bentley College). There was a 69.3% acceptance rate with 75 papers submitted and 52 accepted. There were 429 pre-registered participants.

The Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education award was given to Alan Perlis (Yale University) for contributions to education, especially through his work on programming languages and compiler construction. Pretty cool that the inaugural Turing Award winner was the 2nd SIGCSE award winner! Wish I could have heard that keynote!

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1981

1981 brought several now-familiar elements to our organization. It was the first year the Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education award was given out, and it went to William Atchison, the Head of ACM Curriculum Committee that produced Curriculum '68, and a founding leader of University of Maryland Computer Science Department. Here’s the announcement from the Bulletin:

In 1981 we elected a new Board: Norman Gibbs (who moved to Arizona State University) as Chair, Della Bonnette (University of Southwestern Louisiana) as Vice-Chair, John Frederick Schrage (Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville) for Secretary. At-Large members elected were Robert Aiken (University of Tennessee), Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin) and Joyce Currie Little (Community College of Baltimore).

The 12th Technical Symposium was held February 26-27, 1981 in St. Louis, MO. The Conference Chair was Kenneth Magel (University of Missouri at Rolla). The Program Chairs were Frank G. Walters (University of Missouri at Rolla) and Nell Dale (University of Texas at Austin). There were 62 papers submitted with 46 accepted giving a 71.2% acceptance rate.

There were many changes made to the Technical Symposium based on feedback from the previous ones. This Technical Symposium introduced some of our now well-known conference features: tutorials, workshops, Birds of a Feather, and Panel Sessions. These were all explicitly stated in the call for scholarship.

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1980

On February 14-15, 1980 the 11th Technical Symposium was held in Kansas City, MO. Bill Bulgren (University of Kansas) served as Conference Chair. Virgil Wallentine (Kansas City University) was the Program Chair.
The Bulletin (Vol. 12, Issue 2, July 1980) reported on the Business Meeting held during the conference:

The same issue of The Bulletin contains a survey asking questions about plagiarism in computing classes. Students haven’t changed that much…

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1979

The 10th Technical Symposium was held Feb 22-23 in Dayton, OH. Doug Kerr (Ohio State) served as the Conference Chair. John Dalphin (Indiana University – Purdue At Fort Wayne) was the Program Chair and 54 papers were accepted.

We also elected a new Board. Robert Aiken (University of Tennessee) was re-elected as Chair and Norman Gibbs (College of William and Mary) was re-elected as Vice-Chair. James Powell (Burroughs Wellcome Company) was elected as Secretary-Treasurer. All three Director members were re-elected: Richard Austing (University of Maryland), Gerald Engel (Christopher Newport College), and Betty Sproule (Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp). Della Bonnette (University of Southwestern Louisiana) continued as Bulletin Editor (the last of 4 terms) and John Gorgone (Bentley College) continued as the Assistant Bulletin Editor.

The Bulletin (Volume 11, Issue 3, September 1979) announced the creation of the SIGCSE Annual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education, and that the recipient would give a keynote at the Technical Symposium. It took 2 years from announcement to the first award.

Here’s a good one: at the October 31, 1979 Business meeting, the idea of corporate sponsors was initiated. The proposal was for sponsors to pay $200 and receive SIGCSE publications, free attendance at the Technical Symposium, and have their company listed on the inside cover of the Bulletin.

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1978

This year was the 10th Anniversary of the founding of SIGCSE. During 1978 we held two conferences, but only one was designated as the Technical Symposium.

As reported in The Bulletin (Vol. 9, Issue 4, Dec. 1977):

Ken Williams is organizing what appears to be one of our most successful SIGCSE Symposia (scheduled for February 23-24 in Detroit). He reports that he has already received a number of interesting papers and they're still rolling in.

Volume 10, Issue 1, February 1978 contains the papers of the SIGCSE/CSA technical symposium on computer science education – but is NOT an official numbered Technical Symposium. This conference was held in Detroit, Michigan and chaired by Ken Williams (Western Michigan University) and had 53 papers accepted with 352 people in attendance. A full report can be found at https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=382187.

The official 9th Technical Symposium was held August 14-15 in Pittsburgh and was joint with IEEE/Computer Society Education Committee. Alf Bertztiss (University of Pittsburgh) was the General Chair.

From The Bulletin (Vol. 10, Issue 2, June 1978):

Volume 10, Issue 3, August 1978 contains the papers from this conference. There were over 100 attendees and they came from 25 different states, Canada, Mexico, and Iceland.

You may find it interesting to know the types of events, around the world, that SIGCSE members were involved in, way back in the late 70s. In Volume 10, Issue 4, December 1978 of The Bulletin, the following events were brought to members attention:

• ACM ‘78, December where a business meeting was held and SIGCSE sponsored several sessions
• CSC/SIGCSE, the 10th Technical Symposium in February, 1979
• National Education Computing Conference (NECC), June 1979 in Iowa City, billed as a cross-fertilization effort with other organizations such as AEDS, ADCIS, and IEEE Computer Society.
• International Symposium on Computers and Education in Dusseldorf, Germany, March, 1979
• Third World Conference on Computer Education, Lausanne, Switzerland, July 1981

Even then we were global! At the December 1978 Business Meeting, there was a discussion on whether we should be named CSE or CE (computing education). The name issue is 40 years old!
(Briana Morrison)

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1977

The 7th Technical Symposium was held February 2-3, 1977 at the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta, GA jointly with CSC. John Goda from Georgia Institute of Technology was the Conference Chair. See https://portalparts.acm.org/810000/800008/fm/frontmatter.pdf?ip=137.48.185.10
for the proceedings. This appears to be the first occurrence of a workshop (then called Birds of a Feather) on Structured COBOL by Daniel McCracken, and the first occurrence of a student programming contest at Georgia Tech.

SIGCSE held another Technical Symposium, the 8th on August 4-5, 1977 at the University of Southwestern Louisiana Conference Center in Lafayette, LA. Della Bonnette (from University of Southwestern Louisiana) was the Conference Chair and Terry Walker, also from University of Southwestern Louisiana, was the Program Chair. Eighteen papers were accepted for presentation.

New officers were elected to lead the organization. Robert Aiken served as Chair with Norman Gibbs as Vice-Chair. Terry Walker was the Secretary/Treasurer. Board Members were Richard Austing (past chair), Gerald Engel (past vice-chair), and Betty Sproule (first female board member!). Della Bonnette continued in her 3rd term as Bulletin Editor and John Gorgone assisted.

It appears that Betty Sproule has found a successful second career after CS: http://stuffcure.com

There were three special issues of the Bulletin this year: the February issue contained the proceedings of the 7th Technical Symposium; the June issue was on computer science curricula; and the July issue contained the proceedings of the 8th Technical Symposium. From the June issue:


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1976

From 1976 through 1978, there were actually TWO Technical Symposiums held each year. The first was held in February, jointly with CSC. The second, held late mid-year was only a SIGCSE event.

In 1976, the 5th Technical Symposium was held February 12-13 at Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA as part of the ACM Computer Science Conference. Paul Lorton, Jr. of the University of San Francisco and Ron Colman from California State University at Fullerton were Conference Chairs. We don’t know how many papers were submitted, but 66 were accepted. In the Digital Library, this is listed as the “Proceedings of the SIGCSE-SIGCUE joint symposium on Computer Science Education” (SIGCUE being Computer Uses in Education), but I can find no corroboration that this was joint.

Bob Aiken adds this explanation:\

I remember our Symposia being at least two days with their own General Chair and Program Chair (and committee). Some registration numbers were difficult to unearth and cost sharing sometimes hard to negotiate (though each leadership group tried hard to be equitable). I do remember that during that period we set a goal of 1,000 attendees for the SIGCSE Symposium … and it took us a number of years to finally reach it (though we were only slightly under that goal for several years before achieving it)!

In July of 1976, SIGCSE held its 6th Technical Symposium at Fort Magruder in Williamsburg, VA – on our own! Norman Gibbs from the College of William and Mary was the Conference Chair. Thirty-five papers were accepted for presentation.
(Briana Morrison)

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1975

The 5th Technical Symposium was held February 20-21, 1975 in Washington, D.C. The Conference Chair was Gerald Engel from Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Program chairs were Bruce Barnes (NSF), Norm Gibbs (College of William and Mary), Susan Gerhart (Duke University), Andrew Molnar (NSF), Glenn Ingram (NIE), Joyce Little (Community College of Baltimore), C.K. Capstick (University of Guelph), Harris Burns (Randolph-Macon College), Richard Austing (University of Maryland), and Larry John (University of Dayton). There were just over 300 attendees. Sadly, there seems to be no record of this event in the Digital Library.

In 1975 a new slate of officers was elected. Richard Austing was re-elected to the Chair Position. Douglas Kerr was the Vice-Chair, and John Dalphin served as Secretary/Treasurer. Board Members included Barry Bateman for a second term, Robert Aiken, and Elliott Organick. Della Bonnette continued as the Bulletin Editor and continued to be assisted by John Dalphin.
(Briana Morrison)

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1974

In 1974 the 4th Technical Symposium was held in Detroit, MI on February 14-15. Douglas Kerr from The Ohio State University was Conference Chair. Program Chairs were Toby Berk (Florida International University), Harris Burns (Randolph-Macon College), Clinton Foulk (Ohio State), Larry John (University of Dayton), Bruce Klein (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), and Wayne Tam (Wayne State University). We don’t know how many papers were submitted, but 38 were accepted and there were approximately 250 attendees. The proceedings from this year within the Digital Library only seem to include the CSC presentations and no forward matter exists.

The 4th Technical Symposium was also Frank Friedman’s first SIGCSE conference that he attended, and then he attended for 30 straight years, minus 1. That’s dedication!
(Briana Morrison)

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1973

Starting in 1973 our Technical Symposia were held in conjunction with the “Computer Science Conference.” This conference focused more on research and primarily consisted of a few invited speakers and numerous short abstracts of ongoing Computer Science research activities. Providing a forum for PhD candidates to discuss their work and for departments to recruit was also a primary function! Originally it was sponsored by some large Universities and corporations. ACM handled many of the organizing details.

The 3rd Technical Symposium was held February 22-23, 1973 at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, in conjunction with the Computer Science Conference (CSC). Gerald Engel from Pennsylvania State University was the Conference Chair. “Over 80” papers were submitted with 43 of them accepted for presentation. Check out https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1125118 for a look at the programs. Here’s the conference committee:

However, since the Technical Symposium was held jointly with CSC, exact attendance numbers are difficult to ascertain. It was the primarily those associated with the CSC that handled most of the finances, registration, etc. (though we had a reasonably straightforward agreement as to how our registration would be handled, finances and expenses determined--mostly from exhibits and registrations). This resulted in SIGCSE not having total control over the exact “numbers.” For example, one day and late registrations were sometime difficult to ascertain. However, we do have a few estimates. For our meeting in Columbus in 1973 we had about 200 attendees.

We have two pictures from this conference:

Orrin E. Taulbee, University of Pittsburgh and Marshall Yovits, Ohio State CS Chair, 1973
Taulbee did the Taulbee Report. Yovits probably chaired the very first CSC.

1973? Computer Science Conference Committee (Thanks to Frank Friedman for the picture).

Some were ACM officers, including Gwen Bell. According to Frank: “Most of the CSC Committee were women and they were REALLY GOOD people. They basically ran the show.”

A new Board was also elected. Chair was Richard Austing. Vice-Chair was Gerald Engel. Secretary/Treasurer was J. Robert Jump. Board Members were Barry Bateman, Aaron Finerman (past chair), and Seymour Pollock (past Symposium chair). Della Bonnette became the Bulletin Editor and was assisted by John Dalphin. A quick internet search says that Della Bonnette is still active with CSAB and accreditation issues.

My sincere gratitude to Bob Aiken for helping me dig up some of this information.
(Briana Morrison)

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1972

The 2nd Technical Symposium was held at Washington University in St. Louis on March 24-25, 1972. The Conference Chair was Seymour V. Pollack from Washington University in St. Louis. The Program Chair was Leland Williams from Triangle Universities Computation Center and Robert Aiken (University of Tennessee) once again was Editor of the Proceedings. Again, “over 40” papers were submitted with approximately 30 being accepted. There were 179 attendees. (Briana Morrison)

Also, some additional information from Chris Wilcox about the man who organized SIGCSE and was the first Chair:
Dr. Organick was my master's thesis advisor and a personal friend of our family. I first met him by chance in the 1970's at a remote lake in the Uinta mountains where my father and I were backpacking. He was diagnosed with leukemia shortly afterward, and told that he had a very short time to live, however he actually survived for another ten years. During that period he became my advisor and I learned from him as well as teaching for him numerous times during his illness. I credit him with sending me down the path of becoming a computer science professor. He was a man of complete integrity and boundless energy, both before and after his diagnosis. I still remember him telling me with his usual prescience how excited he was about object-oriented programming (in Ada), and how that would be the next big thing, I think anyone that knew him would give the same sort of testimonial, and I was not in the least surprised that he was a charter member of the SIGCSE organization. (Chris Wilcox)

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1971

There was no Technical Symposium held during 1971, instead it was moved to the early months of the following year (February/March) which has been fairly constant since that time. SIGCSE did get a new slate of officers in 1971: Aaron Finerman was Chair, Tom Kurtz was Vice-Chair, and David Matula continued as Secretary/Treasurer. Board members included Robert Aiken, Peter Denning, and Richard Hamming. Robert Aiken continued to serve as the Bulletin Editor. (Briana Morrison)

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1970

In 1970 SIGCSE Board Members were Elliott Organick, Chair; David Matula, Secretary/Treasurer; and Robert Aiken was the Bulletin Editor.

The SIGCSE Technical Symposium was the first conference organized by our newly founded SIG. The first Technical Symposium was held on the 16th of November, 1970 in Houston, TX. Peter Calingaert from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the Conference Chair. Edward A. Feustel from Rice University was in charge of Arrangements and Publicity and Robert Aiken from the University of Tennessee was the Program Chair and Editor of the Proceedings. There were 143 attendees. There were “over 40” papers submitted with 18 accepted. :

The program was divided into three main sections:
1) morning session looked at computer science in a global sense
2) afternoon session looked at courses generally, and
3) the evening session considered the first course in computer science

In addition, the question of establishing a Journal of Computer Science Education was brought up and the consensus of the group was that the SIGCSE Bulletin was meeting the current need.

The December 1970 issue of the Bulletin ( https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=873668) lists the 600+ members of the organization! It also contained the announcement of the first student paper competition.
(Briana Morrison)

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1969

Beginning in 1969 Elliot Organick served as the founding chair of SIGCSE with Bob Aiken the founding secretary/treasurer and TW Hildebrandt the founding editor of the Bulletin. The first Steering Group (the original Board) consisted of Jack Belzer, Peter Calingaert, TW Hildebradt, Thomas Keenan, Earl Schweppe, and William Viavant. William Atchison and S.D. Conte served as Ex-Officio members of the Steering Group. (Briana Morrison)

The FIRST SIGCSE Bulletin was published in February, 1969 ( https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=873609) and was 22 typed pages! It included information about the organizing committee of the newly formed SIG and a call for a move toward a journal on computer science education (what foresight!). There is also a wonderful article on a survey sent to the SIGCSE members on their ranking of problem/discussion areas.

The second Bulletin was published in June, 1969 ( https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=873611) followed by additional editions in October ( https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=873615) and December ( https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=873618). The October issued noted that there were more than 350 members. We have had 4 or 5 issues of the Bulletin every year since.

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1968

The year is 1968. A group of computing educators met at the Fall Joint Computer Conference (FJCC) in Las Vegas to write and sign a petition that eventually led to the creation of SIGCSE. Elliot Irving Organick (1925 – 1985) is credited with being the driving force behind the group. The petition was signed by 20 ACM members, including Bob Aiken. (Briana Morrison)


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