MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) – Howard University freshman Alanna Walton knew something was different about the professor teaching her introduction to computer science course.
First, there was her name: Professor Sabrina. She was an African American woman, kept office hours until 2 a.m. if that’s what it took to see everyone, and had an additional title: Google In Residence.
“It was an awesome class,” said Alanna who has already chosen her major at the Washington D.C.-based university: computer science.
In ongoing efforts to diversify Silicon Valley’s tech sector, Google is embedding engineers at a handful of Historically Black Colleges and Universities where they teach, mentor and advise on curriculum.
Today 35 percent of African Americans receiving computer science degrees come from those schools, but they don’t make their way to Silicon Valley’s top tech firms. Google is typical – about 1 percent of its technical staffers are black.