Pledge ceremony - The Pledge of The Computing Professional

The Ceremony is intended to be flexible and to be adaptable to an existing Departmental-level graduation ceremony or an existing Order of the Engineer ceremony where Computer Science (or other Computing major) graduates are to be recognized. The ceremony consists of reading a faculty member reading the history of The Pledge, having the students recite the oath as a group, and then recognizing the students individually to receive a memorabilia item with the symbol and signing a certificate.

The suggested memorabilia item is a lapel pin with the symbol. See the Forms to order materials page for information on ordering the memorabilia item.

The inductee certificate contains the oath and a signature line. See Forms to order materials Page for information on ordering the inductee certificate template.

The history to be read to the students is as follows:

The [insert name of institution] Chapter of The Pledge of the Computing Professional was established in [insert year of chartering] as the [insert ordinal number] Node in the Organization’s Linked List of Nodes.

Before we ask the initiates gathered here to obligate themselves to The Pledge of the Computing Professional, we pause to consider the history of, and motivation for, this Organization.

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.

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. The Organization held its first induction ceremonies in May 2011.

Today’s ceremony marks the [insert ordinal] time that The Pledge of the Computing Professional has been conducted at [insert name of institution]. Through this public rite-of-passage ceremony, we foster professional pride, moral obligation, and ethical responsibility in all graduates of computing disciplines. The initiates who are present here today will soon stand to take this Pledge. After this ceremony there will be no organizational meetings to attend, nor will there be any dues to be paid. However, members of this Organization are expected to keep their Pledge to uphold and honor their chosen profession; the certificate and [brief description of memento] that each of our initiates receive here today will serve as visible reminders of this Pledge throughout their professional careers.