Maria Klawe, vice-president, Student and Academic Services, has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Science.
Klawe has served as vice-president since February 1995. Prior to that she was head of the Dept. of Computer Science for six and a half years. She holds the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)-IBM Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for B.C. and the Yukon, which focuses on increasing the participation of women in information technology careers.
"I have enjoyed working with Maria over a number of years and look forward to working with her in this new role," said Barry McBride, UBC vice-president, Academic. "She brings a wealth of experience in the Faculty of Science to the dean's position, as well as the experience she has gained from her responsibilities as a senior vice-president."
During her term as vice-president, Klawe worked with the Campus Advisory Board on Student Development to increase students' communication and involvement with the university through a variety of means, including open forums, surveys, and the campus-wide orientation program, Imagine UBC. She also worked to improve access to information technology through Advisory Committee on Information Technology initiatives such as the campus connectivity project, the faculty workstation initiative, and the provision of e-mail and Internet access to all students, faculty and staff.
As a researcher, Klawe has gained particular recognition for her work on the use of interactive multimedia in education.
She is founder and director of the collaborative Electronic Games for Education in Math and Science (E-GEMS) project. Through E-GEMS, scientists, educators, writers, and game and educational software developers work together to develop interactive multimedia and curriculum materials to teach mathematics and science.
Klawe takes over from Acting Dean David Measday and former dean McBride.