Welcome, Dean Sclaroff
Computer scientist takes helm as interim dean
Stan Sclaroff is serving as interim dean during the 2018–2019 academic year as BU searches for a permanent successor to Ann Cudd. Dean of Arts & Sciences for the past three years, Cudd left BU in July to become the provost of the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned two master’s and a doctorate.
“Dean Cudd brought energy, enthusiasm, and thoughtful leadership to her role, advancing CAS’ robust, multidisciplinary portfolio and leading important efforts to improve diversity, inclusion, and access,” Jean Morrison, BU provost, wrote in an announcement to the University community. She added that Cudd was “instrumental in the implementation of the BU Hub, the University’s first University-wide general education program,” which launched this fall.
A scholar in the areas of computer vision, pattern recognition, and machine learning, Sclaroff developed one of the internet’s first content-based image retrieval systems, among a host of field-defining innovations. He has published in dozens of scholarly journals and is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Association for Pattern Recognition. A member of the CAS faculty since 1995, Sclaroff served as associate dean for mathematical and computational sciences, is a former chair of the computer science department and founder of CAS’ Image and Video Computing Group, and holds an affiliate appointment in the electrical and computer engineering department in BU’s College of Engineering.
[Sclaroff’s] experience, energy, and extraordinary thoughtfulness make him an outstanding choice to lead CAS.
— Jean Morrison, BU provost —
As CAS’ first-ever associate dean for mathematical and computational sciences, Sclaroff helped foster collaboration and innovation among faculty members. “The brand-new concept of a Division of Mathematical and Computational Sciences could have been daunting for some people, but Stan was extraordinarily enthusiastic about the new idea and his enthusiasm was contagious,” recalled Chair of Economics Bart Lipman. “From the very first meetings Stan had with the division, Stan gave us a sense of endless possibilities and exciting frontiers.”
Sclaroff’s “experience, energy, and extraordinary thoughtfulness make him an outstanding choice to lead CAS” as it undertakes a national search, Morrison said. CAS is “often referred to as ‘the heart of Boston University,’ nurturing the discovery, creation, transmission, and application of knowledge and understanding across the humanities and social, natural, and computational sciences. The next dean of CAS will be charged with further enhancing the quality and stature of the college.”