The newly restructured Division of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan is seeking an inaugural Chair. In recognition of its increasing prominence in the College's broader education and research missions, the Division's administrative autonomy and profile have recently been raised to match other College departments, providing the new Chair with an unprecedented opportunity to lead a strong CSE program into a new era.

Computer Science at Michigan will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary, and the Computer Engineering program is among the oldest in the nation. CSE is currently the third largest academic unit in the College, with over 40 faculty and about 200 graduate and 325 undergraduate students. The state-of-the-art 104,000 square-foot CSE Building opened in 2006, housing CSE faculty and projects that had previously been distributed across several buildings under one roof.

CSE has a strong commitment to excellence in computing education, including interdisciplinary curricula with other units in the University. With external funding of approximately $12M annually, CSE is a world-class leader in core research areas such as computer architecture, software systems, and artificial intelligence. CSE has close and longstanding research and educational collaborations with the Division of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and these are preserved in the restructured organization by having the Chairs of CSE and ECE serve as co-Chairs of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department. More broadly, CSE teams with colleagues from across the University to spearhead interdisciplinary investigations in areas like bioinformatics, computational economics, robotics, and educational software. CSE is poised to use its new autonomy to shape research and educational innovations and collaborations that respond to and anticipate the emerging roles of computation in our society.

In this time of transition and opportunity for CSE, a successful Chair candidate must have outstanding leadership, collaborative, and administrative abilities, and be an outstanding scholar. The candidate should possess a compelling vision for the future of CSE research and education, should be able to work with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students, and administrators to articulate and achieve common goals in pursuit of this vision, and should be able to marshal support from alumni and industry in these endeavors. He or she should have an exemplary record of achievement in research, teaching, and service commensurate with appointment as a tenured full professor. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (with CV) should be sent to CSEChair@umich.edu, or to:

Prof. Edmund Durfee
CSE Chair Search Advisory Committee
3633 CSE Building
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2121