CS CARES Committee

Although CS CARES is a committee of the School of Computing and Data Science at Illinois, it operates independently of the school administration, similar to the current Advisory Committee. The autonomous operation is to increase the trust of all community members and affirm that CS CARES commits to offer support to all members of the community, who report concerns. CS CARES governance seeks to strike a balance in acknowledging the need for such autonomy, while also the need for support and stewardship by the school.

Committee Structure

The CS CARES committee consists of a chair, a past chair, and several committee members. The CS CARES Committee strives to represent the diversity of the CS community, including, but not restricted to, gender, ethnicity, and race. 

Committee Member Appointments

The members of the CS CARES Committee are chosen largely for their commitment and record on the issues covered by the Code. Because of the gravity and personal nature of the issues that may appear before this committee, ensuring committee members are empathetic, trustworthy, and discreet is of the utmost importance. Committee members normally are invited to serve for a 2 year term, with a maximum of 6 years served consecutively, and a minimum of 4 years away from the committee before serving again. Committee members who serve as a chair or past chair may serve longer in these positions.

Reporting and Oversight

Although CS CARES will work autonomously, the final responsibility for its appropriate functioning rests with the school. The CS CARES chair will submit an annual report to the school's Executive Committee. Individual reports of concerns and conversations with committee members are unequivocally private. The goal of the CS CARES report is to summarize the nature and scale of climate related concerns within the school, but without inappropriate or confidential details. The CS CARES chair and Executive Committee chair will discuss this report with the Director of SSCDS, with the goal of further surveying the school climate, discussing mechanisms to improve the climate, and providing training materials to CS CARES and community members, as deemed necessary.

Administrative Support

Allison Mette serves as administrative support for the CS CARES committee. She adheres to the same high standards of conduct, discretion, and confidentiality as other committee members. She will attend CS CARES committee meetings in an administrative capacity to steward concerns submitted to the committee, help resolve conflicts of interest, and maintain accurate and confidential records of CS CARES activities using FERPA compliant tools. Allison will assist with meeting and office hours scheduling, coordinate CS CARES event representation, manage the CS CARES manual, and facilitate committee communications as needed.