CICS Dean Laura Haas Receives WITI@UC Athena Award

Laura Haas, dean of the College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been awarded a 2017 WITI@UC Athena Award for Executive Leadership from the Women in Technology Initiative at the University of California.

The awards recognize the accomplishments of technology leaders and organizations fostering interest in computer science for the next generation of women and girls.

Haas was appointed dean of CICS on August 1, 2017 after 36 years at IBM. She most recently served as director of IBM's Accelerated Discovery Lab. She is an IBM Fellow, an ACM Fellow, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. "Laura Haas is a visionary leader in the field of computer science who has built major engines of basic and applied research for one of the most renowned firms in the world," said former UMass Amherst Provost Katherine Newman when announcing the appointment in February.

"I am deeply honored to receive this award," said Haas. "The founding of the Leadership Roundtable and WITI@UC was a bold move by a university to step up to a challenge that many would think well beyond the reach of academia: the equitable participation of women in tech. I hope to follow the path you are forging in my new role at UMass Amherst."

Haas and awardees in three other categories will be recognized at a public symposium exploring innovation and entrepreneurship for women in technology on November 30, 2017, at the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Center in Santa Clara.

The WITI@UC Awards are presented by the Women in Technology Initiative at the University of California (WITI@UC), CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, UC Berkeley College of Engineering, the Center for Long-term Cybersecurity and other partners from industry and academia.