UNM School of Public Administration professor, Roli Varma, has been recognized by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) for her contributions to the organization. Varma, a senior faculty member at the SPA, serves as member of NCWIT’s Social Science Advisory Board.
“As an NCWIT Change Leader, Roli Varma has volunteered precious time to advance our collective mission,” NCWIT CEO and co-founder Lucinda M. Sanders said. “We appreciate Varma’s continued involvement with NCWIT and express our deep gratitude for (SPA’s) organizational commitment to increasing the meaningful participation of girls and women in computing.”
The National Center for Women & Information Technology is a nonprofit change leader network of more than 650 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase women’s meaningful participation in computing. NCWIT equips change leaders with resources and platforms for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K-12 and higher education through industry entrepreneurial careers.
Varma is professor and Regents' Lecturer in the School of Public Administration. She teaches graduate courses on research methods, public policy, diversity management, and teaches a core undergraduate course, Technology in Society, for the School of Engineering as well.
Varma's research focuses on women and minorities in information technology, Asian immigrants in the science and engineering workforce, the management of industrial research, and professional ethics. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation. She is the author of Harbingers of Global Change: India's Techno-Immigrants in the United States (2006, 2007) and Managing Industrial Research Effectively (2006).