Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University has received a major grant from the Selma T. and Jacques H. Mitrani Foundation to renovate a space on the Israel Henry Beren Campus into a computer science collaboration lab. Once completed, students in the Stern College computer science program will have a dedicated space to work on coding, creating and collaborating.

“The Mitrani Foundation has been a cherished partner of Stern College for Women,” said Dr. Karen Bacon, The Mordechai D. Katz and Dr. Monique C. Katz Dean of Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “Their prior investments have literally reshaped the College, and this grant will now enable the women studying computer science to become leaders in the field, not only technically but in keeping with the ethos of Yeshiva University.”

The lab will consist of two rooms equipped with the latest in equipment and spatial design, such as projectable glass walls for presentations; a 3D printer, Arduino processors and other fabrication tools; and pivoting walls that will create larger spaces for events such as hackathons. The expected completion date for the lab is the Spring 2019 semester.

The new Stern College computer science program has about 30 computer science majors with many additional students minoring in the field. Recent Stern College graduates have been able to land jobs in firms such as Google, Facebook, UBS, JP Morgan and others, and current students also do internships with these companies and others. Stern CS students have won scholarships and recognition in the field. Faculty expertise covers the newest innovations, curriculum is constantly updated to keep pace with technological changes and periodic hackathons match coding skills to creative ideas.