Dr. Darra Hofman, Dr. Michele Villagran and Dr. Souvich Ghosh from the San José State University School of Information, as well as Dr. Nada Attar and Dr. Saugher Nojan, are among the 15 winners selected for Mozilla’s Responsible Computing Challenge. Their project, Cross-Campus Interdisciplinary Responsible Computing Learning Experience (CIRCLE), will receive a cut of the $2,225,000 in funding “for college and university curricula that reimagine computing education.”

The CIRCLE Project is an interdisciplinary project involving students, faculty and staff members at San José State University to create “meaningful conversations about and engagement with digital technologies and their broader social impacts.” Hofman, who serves as the CIRCLE Project’s Principal Investigator, states the award is “an exciting opportunity for the iSchool—with our partners across the campus—to bring our expertise and leadership in human-centered technology and information to the whole campus.”

Hofman aims for the CIRCLE Project to dispel the old stereotype of “shushing librarians in cardigans” while demonstrating that librarians are experts in “everything from information literacy to database design to digital asset management.”

The Mozilla Responsible Computing Challenge award will allow “the opportunity to both develop and offer to SJSU students and faculty access to world-class training and opportunities in responsible computing, regardless of their particular discipline or background,” says Hofman. Currently, the CIRCLE Project is recruiting student assistants. Interested students can find out more information about this opportunity on the project’s web page.

The 15 winning curricula “ensure the next generation of digital builders create technology in the public’s interest.” The newest awardees were selected through a panel of four judges whose expertise ranged from computer science, community development, and education.