RIT Names First Dean of Computing and Information Sciences College

Rochester Institute of Technology has named its first dean of the new B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.

Jorge Díaz-Herrera replaced Walter Wolf, who served as interim dean since creation of the college in February 2001. Díaz-Herrera was also named professor of computer science.

Díaz-Herrera comes to RIT from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Georgia, where he was professor and department head of computer science, one of the university’s largest departments with over 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. He was also program coordinator of the university’s Yamacraw project, an economic development initiative to establish Georgia as a world leader in the design of broadband infrastructure systems, devices and chips.

"Jorge is superbly qualified for the job," says Stanley McKenzie, RIT provost. "RIT is extremely pleased to have attracted a person of his national and international reputation."

Díaz-Herrera specializes in software architecture models, design paradigms and tools, and artificial intelligence and real-time systems applications. He has consulted for firms and government agencies including MITRE Corp., the New York Stock Exchange, the Institute for Defense Analyses and others. He has over 70 professional publications and is co-editor of the software engineering volume of the computing curricula effort of the Association for Computer Machinery and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers–Computer Society. He is currently co-writing the book, Component-Based Software Engineering: A Model-Based Approach.

"The global information economy requires many different kinds of computing professionals. This has been recognized by RIT through formation of the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences," says Díaz-Herrera. "I look forward to joining the fine faculty and staff of the college."

Other positions Díaz-Herrera held include visiting scientist at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, chair of software engineering at Monmouth University and senior technical staff member at Carnegie Mellon University. He has instructed computer science and computing systems at George Mason University, SUNY Binghamton, Universidad Centro-Occidental and Empresa Regional de Computación, both in Venezuela, and the University of Lancaster in England.

A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Díaz-Herrera, 51, earned an undergraduate degree in systems analysis from the Universidad Centro Occidental and master’s and doctoral degrees in computer studies from the University of Lancaster. Outside the classroom, he enjoys fencing, restoring historic homes and playing the harp.

Note: RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science and information technology and an undergraduate degree in software engineering. The college is home to the university’s Laboratory for Applied Computing, which partners with industry to develop innovative applications in emerging information technologies.

RIT was the first university in the nation to offer degrees in information technology and software engineering and is leading the nation’s accreditation criteria for information technology education. The college was created with a $14 million gift from B. Thomas Golisano, chairman and chief executive officer of Paychex Inc. The gift is the largest from an individual in the university’s history. For more on the college, visit www.rit.edu/~gccis.