Director of the School of Computer Science - Professor, Tenure

Description

The School of Computer Science (CS), housed within the Gallogly College of Engineering (GCoE), at the University of Oklahoma (OU) invites applications for their next Director. OU seeks an accomplished leader to collaborate with faculty to advance a strong vision for elevating the School’s research and education mission and fostering collaboration within the School and across the OU campuses to meet the growing need for computational sciences in many areas. The current strategic focus areas in CS are high-performance computing, artificial intelligence/machine learning, computational biology, computer science education, computational meteorology, cybersecurity, computer networking, human-centered computing, and robotics.

The School of Computer Science offers ABET-accredited B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs. The School currently has 27 regular faculty members with a significant number of junior faculty members. The student enrollment consists of approximately 800 undergraduate students and 140 graduate students. The total research expenditures last year were $5.3 million, 16 percent higher than the previous year. A significant investment by OU in Computer Science is anticipated to promote substantial growth in the next few years.

The College of Engineering has 190 faculty, 4500 students in 7 schools. The college is on an aggressive growth trajectory: faculty numbers are up over 70% since 2017; incoming students have increased by 45% since 2020; and research expenditures have increased by 150% since 2020. Several new innovative programs support student pathways into the college, and numerous advanced programs prepare students for the workforce and graduate school. The college is expanding its footprint with a new building breaking ground, a second new building funded, and a third new building in the planning phases, with several significant renovations underway as well. The CS director will play a strong role in influencing overall college strategy, investments, and direction.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

The University of Oklahoma is a Carnegie-R1 comprehensive public research university known for excellence in teaching, research, and community engagement, serving the educational, cultural, economic and health-care needs of the state, region, and nation from three campuses: the main campus in Norman, the Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, and the Schusterman Center in Tulsa. OU enrolls over 30,000 students and has more than 2,700 full-time faculty members.

More students than ever are choosing OU, with the last four years seeing record-breaking freshman classes. With nearly 5,600 students, the Class of 2028’s size represents a 20% increase over the last two years. The class is breaking other university records, with the highest number of first-generation college students and the most Oklahoma residents of any other incoming class.

OU’s research momentum continues to accelerate, reaching a record $411 million in externally funded research awarded. The OU research enterprise has achieved an average 12% annual growth rate for awards over the last four years, and OU ranks among the top 8% of research universities nationally.

The historic merger in 2021 to create OU Health has brought immense benefits to the state and its people. As Oklahoma’s first comprehensive academic health system, OU Health is delivering world-class health care, training tomorrow’s health professionals, and meeting the toughest medical challenges with pioneering research and innovation.

OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center remains Oklahoma’s only national cancer institute-designated cancer center, standing at the forefront of cancer research and treatment. In April 2024, OU announced that it will bring NCI-level cancer care to thousands more Oklahomans by expanding the Stephenson Cancer Center to Tulsa. Plans are in motion to build a state-of-the-art facility at OU-Tulsa, with an anticipated opening in June 2027.

Supporting Oklahoma’s workforce is another key priority of the Strategic Plan, and OU has significantly expanded enrollment in several key academic areas to support workforce demands. Nursing has seen its annual number of graduates more than double. Across all Health Sciences academic programs, fall 2024 new student enrollment is up 18% compared to two years ago. OU has also expanded its top-ranked aviation program to meet growing workforce demands, with enrollment in the School of Aviation more than doubling in just two years. The OU Polytechnic Institute at OU-Tulsa welcomed its inaugural class in fall 2024. OUPI combines cutting-edge curriculum in critical STEM fields with on-site training, equipping graduates to transform Oklahoma industries and fuel economic prosperity.

An abundance of other successes have come to life since the Strategic Plan’s introduction in July, 2020 – the announcement of a historic $2 billion