Dear CU Engineering community,听
This edition of CU Engineering magazine commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Department of Computer Science. While the story on Page 14 charts many of the department鈥檚 important milestones, I want to take a moment to celebrate the last 10 years in particular.听
Over the past decade, the department has experienced transformational growth and increased its impact on our state and nation. It has added more than 20 tenure-track faculty, and the student body has grown by more than 300%.听
At the same time, it has made impressive strides in student diversity. The department has grown from 17% to 21% women undergraduates and from 19% to 27% women graduate students. The number of undergraduate students from historically underrepresented backgrounds is also nearly seven times higher than it was in 2011.听
That kind of thoughtful growth is no easy feat, and I would like to thank former and current department chairs James Martin, Liz Jessup, Ken Anderson and Bobby Schnabel for their dedicated and innovative leadership.听
After an especially 鈥渧irtual鈥� year, it鈥檚 hard to imagine where we would be without computing technologies. As you鈥檒l see throughout this edition, computing has become a vital part of nearly every engineering and science discipline. We鈥檙e excited to give you a closer look at the contributions our faculty, students and alumni are making to this dynamic and ever-expanding field.听
As we see the light at the end of an unprecedented year, we hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy, and we look forward to being able to welcome you back to Boulder soon.听
Dean鈥檚 search update
In February, Provost Russ Moore announced that our top candidate for the permanent dean鈥檚 position decided to pursue another opportunity. We will begin a new search next academic year. While the news is unfortunate, we will not stand still. I am working every day with the faculty, staff and students to advance our vision for the college throughout the 2021鈥�22 academic year, and continuing to build lasting relationships with our alumni, partners and friends. We are making extraordinary progress in new educational and research programs, as well as in advancing our inclusive culture. The pandemic and budget challenges may have disrupted our college and our campus, but they have also opened new possibilities for our future. 听
Go, Buffs!
Keith Molenaar
Interim Dean
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