On Mar. 19, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts announced its selection of Dr. Cassidy Sugimoto as the new chair for the School of Public Policy (SPP).
Dr. Sugimoto currently holds the positions of professor of informatics and director of graduate studies in the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington.
Her research is within the specializations of scholarly communication, scientometrics, as well as science policy. Within her principle research, she investigates the ways in which knowledge is produced, disseminated and evaluated. Sugimoto also has a special interest in diversity and inclusion.
“I am confident that Dr. Sugimoto will advance the mission and goals of the school and the college as we envision the purpose and potential for humanities and social sciences at a technologically focused institution in the 21st century,” said Ivan Allen Dean Kaye Husbands Fealing, who was the previous SPP chair.
Sugimoto attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for all three of her degrees which are an undergraduate degree in music performance, an M.S. Degree in information science and a Ph.D. in information science. Sugimoto will officially begin her duties as SPP chair on June 1, 2021. The interim chair, Marilyn Brown, will continue to serve in the role until May 31, 2021. Sugimoto has also begun to work with Brown to ensure a smooth transition of school leadership within Ivan Allen College.
In response to her appointment, Sugimoto tweeted, “I am deeply honored and delighted to be joining SPP as Chair! I am excited to collaborate with the students, staff, and faculty of this dynamic community to write the next chapter!”
The SPP chair holds a unique position at Tech. The role must be filled by a distinguished leader and colleague of the SPP who has the scholarly rank of full professor.
The duties of SPP chair include representing all academic programs and research areas as well as cultivating an environment of collaboration. Just like Tech’s motto of “in progress and service,” the SPP chair should model integrity and empathy and work to continue to grow all facets of the school, including the use of research grants.
When the search began for a new SPP chair in October 2020, SPP affiliates stated they were looking for someone who is a visionary and embodies the values of equity and inclusivity. They also wanted an individual who would be able to follow and further the SPP’s mission.
As a school with an interdisciplinary faculty, the SPP works to translate ideas into solutions to public problems and relate them to the science and technological disciplines.
The SPP works to collaborate across the science and technology domains to educate and train the students who will be future policymakers and analysts.
The job of the SPP is to be an multifaceted and global leader in the main cluster areas of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy; Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy; Ethics and Philosophy of Science and Technology; and Information and Communications Technology Policy.