We are pleased to announce that the 2022 Susan Dean CCSC Distinguished Service Award recipient is Cathy Bareiss awarded at the CCSC Annual Business Meeting on March 4, 2022, in Providence, RI. Cathy has devoted over 25 years to CCSC and to research and innovation in Computer Science education. She has been a visible, vocal, and memorable advocate. For countless people over the years, it has been a pleasure to work with her as a CCSC colleague and friend.
From left: Awardee Cathy Bareiss, CCSC President Karina Assiter.
Cathy Bareiss
Dr. Cathy Bareiss has a long and significant service record to CCSC at both the regional and national levels. Her contributions to the national board date all the way back to 1994 when Cathy represented the Midwest region for the very first CCSC:Midwest conference. That was the beginning of a very impactful career with CCSC that continues until this day. From the first, Cathy has played a significant role in shaping CCSC as an active and engaged board member. The 1990s were formative years for CCSC, as important structures and roles for the organization were still being developed. Cathy’s leadership shaped and led these early discussions. She served as Membership Secretary in those years, assisting with many registration and membership issues, and she created a membership database and membership cards with registration numbers.
Her work on the CCSC board over multiple decades – including service on an ad hoc committee developing guidelines for helping and improving small computing departments – demonstrates her strong commitment to CCSC and Computer Science education.
Cathy is a respected leader for the Midwest region, serving numerous conference roles. She has hosted two conferences, served as conference chair, regional treasurer, and multiple terms as Midwest board representative. The region values her can-do attitude and spirit as she has served in many conference roles, both large and small. For example, in 2021 she provided the tech support needed to run the Midwestern Conference in hybrid mode to accommodate those who could not travel to the site due to the COVID pandemic. Conference committee members appreciate the insights that she has gained from her long history with CCSC. Members also enjoy her persuasive power to encourage conference attendees to complete their evaluations.
Cathy consistently demonstrates that she can step up and get things done. She returned to the national Board representing the Midwest region in recent years and currently serves as the Membership Secretary once again. She recently started hosting virtual “water cooler” meetings in an effort to increase the usefulness of the CCSC organization to its membership. This along with her current initiatives to define the benefits and purpose of membership show that she continually looks to improve and promote CCSC.
CCSC is indebted to Cathy for her many years of dedication to the organization and to Computer Science education in general. It is with great pleasure that we present the 2022 CCSC Susan Dean Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Cathy Bareiss.