Willing to Experiment
A redesigned computer science course brings alumni and students together for a real-world experience.
In fall 2014, students enrolling in the newly redesigned course Computer Science 322: Team Software Development for Community Organizations will help test a new approach to alumni participation in the curriculum.
Janet Davis, associate professor of computer science, has redesigned the course to incorporate alumni mentors with industry experience. Small project teams of students will get the benefit of practical advice and assistance from alumni.
The effort comes with the support of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and the Center for Careers, Life, and Service, which actively engages alumni in key campus programs and services.
Ian Young ’08 thinks it’s a really good idea. A computer science major, Young went into the industry right after graduation. He’s a Ruby on Rails Web developer and has been a freelancer since October 2013.
“There was definitely a lot for me to learn in industry,” Young says. “I had to apply what I learned at Grinnell.”
Students Will Benefit from Alumni Industry Experience
Young was one of the first students Davis got to know when she came to Grinnell in 2006. It was a conversation with him that made her realize that alumni mentors could do more than advise on the technical side of things.
“What makes you valuable in the real world is a lot more about what you can build, your skill with tools, how well you communicate with clients and understand what they need,” Young explains.
Davis is enthusiastic about inviting young alums — those who have been out of college for five to 10 years — back to campus. They remember well what it was like to be students themselves. Current students can relate to them.
Asking alumni to share expertise with students isn’t new, however. Douglas Caulkins, professor emeritus of anthropology, was one of the pioneers in inviting alumni to help with courses. He did this through Creative Careers: Learning from Alumni course offerings, in which alumni from many different fields come to campus to talk about their careers with students. Samuel Rebelsky, professor of computer science, also has taught classes focused on learning from alumni.
Davis hopes to build on the approach. She becomes director and chair of the Donald L. Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership in August.
Made possible by a gift from Donald L. Wilson ’25, a former Grinnell College Trustee, the program examines the theory and practice of socially responsible innovation, enterprise, and leadership in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors, with the goal of empowering students to explore diverse career options.
Innovation Grant Funds Pilot
Davis’ project is the first step in a three-year pilot funded by a College Innovation Fund grant. The fund supports promising ideas proposed by faculty, staff, and students for new approaches to teaching and scholarship, as well as student-initiated proposals that enrich campus life and learning.
The grant pays for a part-time staff person to work with faculty members across campus. This person will consult with faculty members about how alumni expertise can be effectively integrated into courses. The staff member will also handle research and the logistics involved in getting alumni to campus.
Mark Peltz, who holds the Daniel ’77 and Patricia Jipp Finkelman ’80 Deanship in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service, expects the hire to come this summer.
Peltz hopes the outcomes of the project will be so profound that the program will continue. Alumni bring knowledge and experience that complement what the College’s world-class faculty offers, he adds.
They also show vividly the achievement that can come for those with a Grinnell education. “Alumni engagement opens windows for students to see what graduates of a liberal arts college can do,” Peltz says.