Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver has appointed a committee to conduct a national search for the first dean of Vanderbilt University’s new College of Connected Computing. The new dean will report to the provost. The dean initially will have a dotted reporting line to Bruce & Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering Krishnendu “Krish” Roy.
“This search committee will play a pivotal role in identifying the visionary leader who will shape the future of the College of Connected Computing,” Raver said. “Their expertise and cross-disciplinary insights will be essential in selecting a dean who can drive innovation, foster collaboration across fields and position Vanderbilt as a global leader in computing education and research.”
The interdisciplinary College of Connected Computing will be dedicated to computer science, AI, data science, digital humanities, and computational approaches to policy, law, and social science. In addition to meeting the growing demand for degrees in technological fields and advancing research in rapidly evolving computing-related disciplines, it will collaborate with all of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges to advance breakthrough discoveries and strengthen computing education through a “computing for all” approach.
Roy serves as chair of the search committee, which consists of faculty from several colleges and nonfaculty peers. The committee officially began its work on Sept. 5.
“The founding dean will set the tone for our bold ambitions and vision of quickly becoming one of the world’s premier colleges of computing,” Roy said. “Our search committee includes a diverse, truly cross-disciplinary group of scholars working in fields that include anthropology, computer science, education, the humanities, law, physics and pharmacology. This esteemed committee is looking for candidates with proven records of success in applying computing technology to broad fields of research, leading cross-disciplinary collaborations across academia, industry and government, and equipping new generations of students to thrive in a rapidly changing digital world.”
The members of the College of Connected Computing dean search committee are:
- Krishnendu Roy, chair, Bruce & Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering, University Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and University Distinguished Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
- Peter J. Embi, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics
- Julie L. Johnson, professor of the practice of computer science
- Thomas J. Palmeri, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and chair of the Department of Psychology
- Padma Raghavan, vice provost for research and innovation
- Jonathan Sprinkle, professor of computer science and chair of the Department of Computer Science
- Corey Thomas, BE ’98, Vanderbilt University trustee; CEO and board chair at Rapid7 Inc.
- Mallika Vinekar, assistant provost for professional education
- Duane Watson, vice provost for special initiatives
- Sophie Pavia, doctoral student, computer science
- Tracey E. George, ex officio, vice provost for faculty affairs
Isaacson, Miller, a leading executive search firm with extensive experience in recruiting transformational leaders in higher education, will support the committee, which is charged with identifying top candidates for deeper review later this year.
A new dean will be selected in the spring of 2025. For questions about the search committee or process, please email the Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Education at facultyaffairs@vanderbilt.edu.
