Bettina Bair

Biography
Current
Teaching: CSE2221
<Schedule>
also by appointment
Bettina has been teaching full-time at Ohio State University since 1998. During that time, she has had the opportunity to develop and deliver course work for computer science topics at all levels. Prior to that, she was an adjunct lecturer for smaller programs in Denver, Colorado and Central Ohio. She has taught and developed curriculum for business and computer science degree programs.
Prior to her career in academia, Bettina worked in industry for nearly 20 years. This real-world experience, somewhat unusual at a research institution, has given her a unique and valuable perspective on the practical aspects of the material taught.
Bettina is consistently one of the top-rated instructors in her department, and very engaged with students at the undergraduate level. She received recognition for Teaching Excellence at the CSE Awards Banquet in 2020. She has received many awards for her work encouraging the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented minorities in computer science.
Bettina is also an active member of the ACM-W (ACM's Women in Computing) Executive Committee as Communications Chair. In 2005, Bettina organized the first Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing (OCWiC), a well-attended statewide conference that was reported in the Chronicle for Higher Education as well as in the computing media. OCWiC is now one of the longest running and best attended regional celebrations of women in computing, delivering events and providing support and advocacy for women in computing. In 2008, Bettina and a small group of women students chartered an ACM-W Student Chapter at Ohio State, which is today the oldest continuously active student chapter. In 2018, Bettina founded the first ACM-W Professional Chapter in the United States.
Bettina has created computer science content for TED-ED, and authored several research papers and articles highlighting the gender imbalance in computing.
Expertise
Earlier publications
- "Women's Interest in IT: The Fun Factor", Reconfiguring the Firewall
Recruiting Women to Information Technology across Cultures and Continents 2007. - TWiCE Computer Science Program for Women Achieved 100% Retention -- "TWiCE Undergraduate Experience in Research and Community Service," Grace Hopper Women in Computing Conference, 2006.
- "Columbus 'geeks' use their skills to help others", The Columbus Dispatch, Nov 6, 2006
- "OSU trying to attract women to computer sciences with new courses, programs", The Daily Reporter, Oct 25, 2006
- Women in I.T., Presentation to CO-ACM, Feb 16, 2006
- Computing specialty jobs on the rise, The Columbus Dispatch, Sept 05, 2005
- Gendered Perspectives of Programming as a Career”, Crossing Cultures, Changing Lives, Oxford, UK, August, 2005
- Special issue on gender-balancing computing education, Journal on Educational Resources in Computing (JERIC), Volume 4 , Issue 1
- “Ohio Celebration of Women In Computing Showcases Success stories”, ACM Membernet, May, 2005
- Industry Career Panel, with Teresa Dean, IBM, Svetlana Verthein, Microsoft, Ohio Celebration of Women In Computing, April, 2005
- OSU creates programs to attract women in science, The Lantern, Ruth Keener, March 1, 2005
- “Factoring in WOMEN - Some thrive in fields related to math and science, and they're helping to remove obstacles to others”, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, March, 2005
- “ACM-W Student Finds Hope for Women in CS at SIGCSE”, ACM Membernet, March, 2005
- “Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing Offers Networking, Mentoring”, ACM Membernet, March, 2005
- “Expanding the Women-in-Computing Community” SIGCSE Bird-of-a-Feather, February, 2005
- “Women in computer science at OSU have unique opportunities”, The Columbus Dispatch, February, 2005
- “ACM-W Chapters: Communities for Students in Computer Science”, Paula Gabbert, Vicki Allan, Bettina Bair , Lilly Irani , Fatma Mili Grace Hopper Conference Panel, 2004
- “Regional Celebrations of Women in Computing Offer Local Support”, ACM Membernet, July, 2004