DRA Grant to Help Clarke Continue Computer Science Legacy

Clarke University will commemorate the 50 anniversary of its Computer Science program with the help of a $10,000 grant from the Dubuque Racing Association. The grant will be used to help fund needed equipment in the school’s Isidore Computer Lab.

Clarke University’s Computer Science program was established in 1965 by Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Computer Science. Faculty are committed to continuing this legacy by incorporating new technologies and theories into Clarke’s Computer Science courses. Since Keller’s groundbreaking work five decades ago, Clarke has continued to be an area leader in Computer Science. Clarke has graduated 652 students in the field during that time; 56 percent of these graduates live and work in Iowa, while another 22 percent reside in Wisconsin and Illinois.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Computer Science at Clarke, the university is enhancing the existing Computer Science Lab, the Isidore Lab, which was partially funded by the Dubuque Racing Association 12 years ago, in 2004. New technology and equipment is needed to enhance the lab and continue the legacy of Computer Science at Clarke University.

The goal of this project is to prepare students at Clarke University for the workplace and to provide current hardware and software necessary for students to experience emerging technologies in the areas of web programming, distributed systems, databases, wireless communications, networking, software engineering, virtual reality, and graphics.

For more information, contact the Clarke University Marketing and Communication Office at (563)588-6318.