Stehlik Leaves His Mark

An SCS Constant

A man wears full Scottish regalia, including a green and red plaid kilt, black jacket, jaunty hat, knee socks and garter flash.CMU launched its undergraduate computer science degree program in 1989, graduating its first cohort of 75 undergrads in 1992. Mark Stehlik advised them all.

While countless things have changed since then, one factor has remained constant: Mark.

For 35 years, he’s advised students, helping them navigate the occasionally rough waters between high school and college graduation. Close to 4,000 advisees (in Pittsburgh and in Doha, Qatar) have benefited from his dedicated guidance and support. And by next May, he'll celebrate the graduation of his fourth advisee whose parent(s) called Mark a mentor, advisor and friend.

Mark has also taught thousands of students in a variety of 100- and 200-level computer science courses since he became faculty in 1982.

Make Your Gift

Honor Mark's legacy and support CMU CS Academy in the process by making a donation to the Mark Stehlik Fund.

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More Than an Adviser

Four illustrated people work together to construct the image of a Scotty dog's head, which is shown against graph paper.Mark's dedication to students extends beyond advising and teaching, though. In the 1980s and 1990s, Mark trained close to a thousand AP Computer Science high school teachers. In the late 1990s, he and Corey Kosak led C++ summer workshops for almost 250 high school teachers as part of Allan Fisher and Jane Margolis’s NSF-sponsored 6APT program that helped equalize the gender balance in computer science at CMU.

In 2018, he co-founded CMU CS Academy, which provides free online computer science curricula for high school and middle school classrooms that has been consumed by more than 400,000 students to date. Mark also became the first teaching-track faculty member at CMU to be elevated to University Professor in 2023.

Mark's SCS legacy is indelible, but his retirement is imminent.

To celebrate his career and his impact on students at CMU and beyond, SCS has created the Mark Stehlik Endowment for CMU CS Academy. Donations to the fund will support the initiative to ensure that CMU CS Academy exists in perpetuity.

We honored Mark at Spring Carnival in 2025. But you can continue the celebration by making a donation.

Make Your Gift Now

"Like so many people who passed through SCS during Mark's long tenure, I owe him more than I could ever hope to pay back in one lifetime. I think it's only fitting to honor his impact, to pay forward his endless support for others, by building a fund that will provide ongoing support for his vision of a CS education program accessible to anyone, anywhere."

Jonathan Betz (SCS 1999)

We had a great time celebrating Mark over Carnival Weekend!

A man stands with his arms extended beneath a sign that reads "Welcome!"
Mark Stehlik at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A table with a balloon centerpeice and cartoon faces on sticks, with people standing in the background
Decorations from the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Two people hug at a retirement celebration
Mark at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Three men stand together smiling, with the person on the far left and the far right holding a cartoon faces on sticks of the man in the middle
Mark with SCS alumni at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Two people shake hands while a third person stands with them smiling
Shaking hands at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A man with outstreched arms smiles in greeting to a man approaching him
Mark greeting a partygoer at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Table arranged with posters and cartoon masks and pins of the party's guest of honor
Memories, pins and Mark's cartoon face at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Two people stand stand side by side and smile
Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Two people speak together, with other party attendees in the background.
Catching up at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A man stands with two of his former students, each holding a cartoon face mask of his likeness. All are smiling.
Mark with former students at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Two men clasp hands and smile at a retirement celebration
Catching up at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
Two men stand stand side by side and smile on a stage, with festive balloons in the background.
Mark Stehlik and Jonathan Betz at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A man and a woman are about to hug on stage
Mark and his daughter, Kristin, at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A man stands at a podium with his arms in an open gesture while giving remarks
Mark at the podium during the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A woman holds her glasses in front of her while wiping tears from her eyes during remarks
Emotional speeches were made at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A woman seated at a table and facing forward looks on during remarks. Balloons and other guests are out of focus in the background
Listening to remarks at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.
A man and a woman hug at a retirement celebration
Mark Stehlik and his wife, Sylvia, at the Stehlik Leaves His Mark Celebration on April 5, 2025.

Leave a Comment for Mark

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