Ellen W. Zegura, Merrick Furst & Maureen Biggers Begin New Roles

Dr.Richard A. DeMillo, Imlay Dean and Distinguished Professor of Computing, announced today three additions to the College of Computing (CoC) administrative team. Effective February 1, Ellen W. Zegura became associate dean for research and graduate programs. Zegura's duties include overall responsibility for overseeing the College's extensive research budget, and promoting and developing new research projects and initiatives. She also will oversee all aspects of the College's graduate programs and graduate student services. Zegura will retain her former duties related to space and facilities, and will continue to maintain her personal research activities in GCATT.

Ellen's considerable administrative skills became apparent to all of us during her recent tenure as interim dean of CoC, so I am personally thrilled that she has agreed to bring her intelligence and energy to the dean's office on a permanent basis," DeMillo said.

Merrick Furst has joined the College's faculty and the dean's administrative team as professor and associate dean for undergraduate programs and faculty development. Furst is a distinguished scholar and brings further strength to the College's already strong theory group. Furst and DeMillo have been colleagues, collaborators and friends for many years.

Beyond his academic experience at Carnegie Mellon and Berkeley, he has commercial, entrepreneurial and administrative experience I value," said DeMillo. "I have on many occasions relied on his good sense and judgment, so it gives me great personal pleasure to have him join us here at Tech."

Furst has overall responsibility for all aspects of the College's undergraduate programs, including (jointly with Ellen Zegura) supervisory responsibilities for the office of Student Services. In addition, Furst will establish and monitor a systematic mentoring infrastructure aimed at the professional development of the College's junior faculty - particularly those faculty who join the College fresh from Ph.D. programs. Furst's challenge will be to aggressively enhance the College of Computing's stature as a national leader in undergraduate computing education, a priority for the College and the Institute. With a focus on innovation and technology, and CoC's access to a remarkably talented student body, the goal is to be as celebrated for the educational achievements as the College's research achievements.

Also on February 1, Maureen Biggers becomes assistant dean for diversity and special programs. Biggers has overall responsibility for promoting diversity and diversity-based programs with the College. Bigger's role is to weave diverse student populations and programs into an innovative approach to diversity that places CoC and Georgia Tech among the top ranked institutions in this area. Biggers also has responsibility for a number of programs and initiatives that require dedicated attention from the dean's office.

"Biggers has an extensive background in college-level administration and brings a dedication to diversity goals to this new position," DeMillo said.

The Georgia Tech College of Computing houses one of the largest computer science programs in the country with 68 academic faculty and 35 research faculty. The College strives to provide high quality instruction and to integrate computing knowledge into other academic disciplines as well as aspects of daily life. Approximately 1900 students are enrolled in the college; including approximately 1500 undergraduates and more than 400 graduate students, some 260 of which are Ph.D. students.