JANUARY 17, 2025 — UTSA Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley this week announced a national search for the founding dean of the UTSA College of AI, Cyber and Computing.
Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design Dean Eric Brey will serve as chair for the search advisory committee, which comprises faculty, including faculty senators, staff and students. Alberto Pimentel of national search firm SP&A Executive Search will assist the committee.
“The founding dean of the College of AI, Cyber and Computing will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this innovative new college,” said Shipley. “We are seeking a visionary leader who will inspire interdisciplinary collaboration, drive groundbreaking research, and prepare students to excel in the rapidly evolving landscape of advanced technologies. Equally important, this leader will forge strong partnerships with community and industry leaders to amplify the college’s impact on San Antonio and beyond.”
“The founding dean of the College of AI, Cyber and Computing will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this innovative new college.”
The College of AI, Cyber and Computing was announced last month following recommendations from an advisory task force that launched in January 2024, as well as deep and broad consultation with internal and external stakeholders over the past year.
The new college will comprise four specialized departments, structured to maximize current expertise and collaboration across computer science, computer engineering, information systems and cyber security, and data science and statistics. It is expected to enroll well over 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students when it formally launches in fall 2025.
To kick off the search, the search firm will facilitate listening sessions for impacted faculty, staff and students to share their ideas on desired qualities and qualifications for the founding dean, as well as priorities for the new college. The sessions will help the search firm to develop a comprehensive leadership profile to recruit a strong candidate pool. Details will be shared at a later date.
