www.eng.usf.edu4202 East Fowler Avenue, ENB 118

Tampa Florida 33620-5350Phone: (813) 974-3780

Fax: (813) 974-0460

For information on the next Induction Ceremony contact:

Catherine Burton813.974.9888

sburton@usf.edu

I am a Computing Professional.

My work as a Computing Professional affects people’s lives, both now and into the future.

As a result, I bear moral and ethical responsibilities to society.

As a Computing Professional, I pledge to practice my profession with the highest level of integrity and competence.

I shall always use my skills for the public good.

I shall be honest about my limitations, continuously seeking to improve my skills through life-long learning.

I shall engage only in honorable and upstanding endeavors.

By my actions, I pledge to honor the profession which I have chosen.

In 2007, inspired by the example of the Order of the Engineer, individuals at Ohio Northern University and the University of South Florida created similar organizations for graduates of their respective computing programs. After interest in such an organization grew at other institutions, The Pledge of the Computing Professional was developed by an international team of 17 computing professionals. In many modern professions, the act of joining the profession is accompanied by a rite of passage, symbolizing the entry of the initiate into a position of responsibility. The initiate often takes an oath, pledging to act both ethically and morally as a member of the profession. The initiate is often presented with a visible symbol of the profession, as a reminder of the responsibility of the profession.

The University of South Florida College of Engineering’s Induction into the Profession ceremony is held in conjunction with the University’s commencement exercises. The College holds two Ceremonies each year to coincide with both fall and spring commencement activities. The USF College of Engineering Ceremony is open to the public and friends and family members of the graduates are encouraged to attend. The small, intimate nature of the ceremony gives inductees and their supporters a chance to savor the experience of seeing a student become a professional or an established engineer honor their chosen profession. The highlights of the ceremony include the presentation of faculty members, an address by a guest speaker, the public acceptance of the Pledge of the Computing Professional and the acceptance of the symbol.

The purpose of The Pledge of the Computing Professional, is to promote the notion of computing as a recognized profession with both ethical and moral responsibilities through the public performance of a rite-of-passage ceremony. This rite-of-passage, typically to be conducted in a ceremony associated with graduation, shall promote and recognize ethical and moral behavior in graduates of computing-related degree programs from accredited institutions as they transition to a career of service to society.

The symbol is a square matrix with the key word “Honor” encoded using the ASCII character set and the ones and zeros of computing. The background color is black and the border and binary digits are in gold.

The seal is the symbol with the words “The Pledge of Computing Professional” surrounding the symbol itself.