Andrew Moore to step down as dean of CMU's School of Computer Science

Aaron Aupperlee
Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018 1:18 p.m. | Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018 1:18 p.m.

Andrew Russell | Tribune-Review

Andrew Moore, Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University claps for speakers at Amazon's South Side Works office when the tech giant officially opened its first corporate office in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2016. Moore has announced, Tuesday, August 28, 2018, that he will be stepping down from his position as Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Andrew Moore, director of Google's Pittsburgh Engineering Office stands in front of a projection of Sky, a feature in Google Earth that allows users to view images from outer space, at an announcement event at Google's Pittsburgh Engineering Office at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday, August 22, 2007. Sky was created in Pittsburgh by Google by combining imagery from many different scientific sources. Moore has announced, Tuesday, August 28, 2018, that he will be stepping down from his position as Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Google Pittsburgh Engineering Director Andrew Moore addresses the crowd at an open house marking the opening of Google offices in Bakery Square in East Liberty, Tuesday, December 7, 2010. Moore has announced, Tuesday, August 28, 2018, that he will be stepping down from his position as Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sidney Davis | Tribune-Review

Andrew Moore, Vice-president of Engineering for Google Pittsburgh, councilman Bill Peduto and Congressman Mike Doyle chat in a hallway after an announcement of an expansion of 50,000 square feet in their Bakery Square and hiring of 75 plus people on Friday June 7, 2013. Moore has announced, Tuesday, August 28, 2018, that he will be stepping down from his position as Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

James Knox | Trib Total Media

From left, Andrew Moore, Dean of Computer Science at CMU, Audrey Russo, President and CEO Pittsburgh Technology Council and John Bares, director of the new Uber Advanced Technologies Center in Lawrenceville speak during the panel discussion of the closing plenary Wednesday June 3, 2015 at the ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) AmericaÕs 25th Annual Meeting and Expo at the David Lawrence Convention Center.

Andrew Moore, the dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s world-renowned School of Computer Science, is leaving the university.

Moore, in an email sent Tuesday to his colleagues and students, said he has accepted a position outside of CMU.

“SCS has earned so much respect around the world, has accomplished so much over the decades and years, has so many absolutely amazing humans in it, and has so many people with important and influential things in the works, that I am bursting with excitement to see where it’s going next,” Moore wrote. “I will always be part of CMU in heart, and I will be eagerly looking for ways to help out and contribute.”

Moore didn’t say what he’d be doing next, promising to announce it soon. He did write that he was not going to another university.

“Andrew’s impact on Carnegie Mellon University and the city of Pittsburgh cannot be overstated,” CMU President Farnam Jahanian wrote in email to students, faculty and staff in the school. “Since joining the SCS faculty in 1993, Andrew has been passionate about the impact of technology on society, and a leader on how we should embrace technology’s potential to improve lives.”

Jahanian said an interim dean will be appointed in the next few weeks and a national search for a new dean will begin soon. Moore will remain at CMU until December.

Moore started at CMU in 1993. He left in 2006 to head Google’s office in Pittsburgh and returned in 2014.

The program enrolled 211 first-year students this year, up from 139 in 2014. Last year, more than half of the incoming undergraduate students were women, a first for the school and notable among computer science programs around the country.

This semester, CMU’s School of Computer Science became the first in the United States to offer an undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence. The school’s graduate program in AI was ranked first by U.S. News and World Report.

Moore’s views on the potential good of AI are respected the world over. In May, Moore, Jahanian and other tech leaders meet with members of President Donald Trump’s White House staff for a summit on artificial intelligence.

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Aaron at 412-336-8448, aaupperlee@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tinynotebook.

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