Debra J. Richardson, professor of informatics at UC Irvine and interim dean of the School of Information and Computer Science since December 2002, has been named dean of the school effective today, announced Chancellor Ralph Cicerone. She also will hold the Ted and Janice Smith Endowed Dean’s Chair.
“Dean Richardson has a clear vision for the future of computer science and information technologies at UC Irvine,� said Cicerone. “Her dedication to increasing the diverse participation in the field combined with her strong leadership, her drive to continue to elevate the University of California’s first computer science school and her experience will serve UCI well in this position.�
Richardson joined UCI in July 1987 as assistant professor in the then-department of information and computer science; she became department chair in July 2000 and interim dean in December 2002. She was instrumental in securing the recent $20 million anonymous gift to ICS. She serves as director of UCI’s Ada Byron Research Center for Diversity in Computing and Information Technology (a hub of the National Center for Women and Information Technology), whose mission is to ensure that women and other underrepresented populations are fully represented in the influential world of information technology.
“I am honored to be named dean of ICS and pleased to have the support and endorsement of UCI’s administration and ICS faculty for the direction in which the school is moving — a nationally acclaimed research institute with a broad, interdisciplinary emphasis,� Richardson said. “This appointment allows me to continue recruiting the very best faculty and building the school’s reputation as an excellent choice for Southern California students.�
Active in the community, Richardson sits on the board of trustees for Girls, Inc. Orange County, a non-profit organization committed to preparing at-risk girls to lead successful, independent, and fulfilling lives; the executive advisory board of the Association for Women in Technology, a local non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of women and girls in all fields of technology; the board of trustees of the Orange County Chapter of ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation, which is dedicated to helping the best and brightest students by providing scholarships to scientists and engineers; and the board of directors of Cotelligent, Inc., a leading provider of mobile business solutions, services and wireless hosting.
Richardson received her bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego in 1976, and earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees in computer and information science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1978 and 1981, respectively.
Under her leadership, information and computer science enrollment at UCI has grown to more than 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students, a 125 percent since 1998. With experts in areas ranging from embedded computer systems and networking to bioinformatics and the social impacts of computing, the school currently ranks 15th among all public university computer science graduate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report.
THE SCHOOL OF INFORMATION AND COMPUTER SCIENCE: Founded as a department in 1968, information and computer science became a school in December 2002. It is home to the largest computing program in the UC system and leads innovative research into new information and computing technology, including studies of its economic, commercial and social impact. For more information, visit www.ics.uci.edu.
The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked public university dedicated to the principles of research, scholarship and community. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,300 faculty members. The third-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3 billion.