Honorary degree citation - Maria Klawe
By: Sudhir Mudur, November 2016
Mr. Chancellor, it is my honour to present to you Dr. Maria Klawe, renowned computer scientist and tireless advocate for women and minorities pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr. Klawe is a national thought leader on women in STEM fields and has made significant research contributions in the areas of mathematics and computer science.
She earned two degrees in mathematics at the University of Alberta before pursuing graduate studies in computer science at the University of Toronto.
Recognizing the ongoing barriers to women in her chosen academic disciplines, she is an active member in numerous organizations promoting women and leadership in STEM fields.
Currently, Dr. Klawe is president of the prestigious Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California.
She sits on the board of directors for Math for America, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting math and science teachers across the United States.
Dr. Klawe’s distinguished career includes research and management work at IBM, as well as professorships at Oakland University and the University of Toronto.
She served as vice-president of Student and Academic Services at the University of British Columbia and dean of Engineering at Princeton.
She is also a former president of the Association for Computing Machinery in New York, the world's largest scientific and educational computing society.
Dr. Klawe is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a trustee for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at Berkeley.
She was named a founding fellow of the Canadian Information Processing Society in 2006, and was elected as a fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery in 1996.
Dr. Klawe is an emeritus member of the board of trustees of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology in Palo Alto, and a past trustee of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics in Los Angeles.
She is also a former member of Microsoft’s board of directors, and held leadership positions with the American Mathematical Society, the Computing Research Association, the Society for Industrila and Applied Mathematics and the Canadian Mathematical Society.
Dr. Klawe has received a number of honours over the years in recognition of her accomplishments.
She was named a Wired Woman Pioneer, the Canadian New Media Educator of the Year, the BC Science Council Champion of the Year.
She holds honorary doctorates from academic institutions across North American and is a University of Alberta Distinguished Alumna.
Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of Senate and the Board of Governors, it is my privilege and honour to present to you Dr. Maria Klawe, so that you may confer upon her the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.
