In my view, the single most effective step Macalester’s computer science program has taken toward improving its inclusivity is changing how we teach the first-semester CS course. Lots of work on •many• fronts, but if I’m picking one thing, that’s it.
Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard CS majors say “I wasn’t sure I could be a programmer, and then I took COMP 123 and I loved it.” And that remark comes disproportionately from folks in groups usually marginalized in CS.