Reappointment of Dean Marios Papaefthymiou

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of Chancellor Gillman, I am pleased to announce that Marios Papaefthymiou has been appointed to a second five-year term as the Ted and Janice Smith Family Foundation Dean of the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences. Under his leadership, the School has made great strides in fundraising, program development, faculty recruitment, student success and increased visibility with partners and alumni.

This reappointment decision follows an administrative review, which included materials submitted by Dean Papaefthymiou and letters of evaluation from senior administrators, deans, associate deans, faculty, external reviewers and staff members. The review committee provided a report on his performance and accomplishments. I am grateful to the committee and its chair, Nikil Dutt, Distinguished Professor, Computer Science, for their efforts during the review process.

During his first term, the School successfully developed philanthropic, industry and foundation support reaching $10M annually, a fivefold increase. New research awards doubled, exceeding $20M annually. Major new initiatives and centers were established, with active participation from multiple schools, including the HPI Research Center for Machine Learning and Data Science, the Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical and Accessible Technology, the Initiative on Artificial Intelligence, Law and Society, the Connected Learning Lab, and the Institute for Future Health.

The School has recruited 35 new faculty members, a 40% increase in overall faculty growth while leveraging strengths across ICS and building bridges with other schools on campus. With most faculty hires at the assistant professor level, the school is now well positioned for growth in research in a range of subjects including artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, software engineering, human-computer interaction, interactive media and learning, and health informatics.

The School has also invested in the growth and professional development of its students by empowering and supporting new initiatives, including the launch of an annual ICS Industry Showcase that brings together students and industry partners for recruitment and research opportunities. Experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students have expanded through capstone projects designed in partnership with industry affiliates, non-profits, and the UCI community. On the graduate student front, the School has grown its doctoral programs and launched three new professional master’s programs in computer science, data science, and software engineering.

Engagement with alumni was strengthened by reinvigorating the ICS Alumni Chapter, organizing regular alumni events, and developing opportunities for alumni to return to campus to share their accomplishments and engage with students and faculty.

Please join me in congratulating Dean Papaefthymiou on his reappointment.

Sincerely,

Hal Stern
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Chancellor’s Professor, Department of Statistics

Announcement was originally posted by the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor.