Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to provide an update on our Centennial Cluster Initiative, which has proven to be even more successful than we imagined. You may recall that the name of the initiative is derived from 鶹ý’s centennial anniversary, which we will be celebrating in less than five years. We have hired proven leaders in teaching and research and they will guide us into the future. The phrase “cluster hire” refers to strategies that seek to hire faculty from different disciplines into thematic subject areas. Research shows that such practices (1) , (2) , and (3) have the potential to “.”
Recognizing the value of interdisciplinary cluster hires, I have invited chairs over the past two years to submit cluster hire proposals highlighting 鶹ýs research strengths. Last year we selected six clusters, all of which were related to artificial intelligence (AI), with a goal of hiring up to 25 faculty with expertise related to this important topic. I am pleased to say that across the cluster hires and other searches we hired 22 faculty with AI-related expertise. Those faculty will have appointments or joint appointments in a wide range of departments and programs, including criminal justice, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, electrical and computer engineering, engineering technology, English, enterprise research, geography, physics, supply chain operations, special education, systems engineering. Searches for those lines not filled this year are ongoing.
For 2025-2026, in addition to expanding a previously funded cluster (e.g., Trustworthy AI) to integrate a focus on secure AI for healthcare, we have chosen to move forward with three resilience-themed cluster proposals, including the following:
- Coastal Resilience: A Data-Informed Approach to Designing Smart and Resilient Infrastructure (Civil and Environmental Engineering and Ocean and Earth Sciences)
- Community Health and Resilience (School of Public Service and Special Education)
- Critical Infrastructure and Digitalization to Advance National Security (Engineering and Technology, Data Science, and Office of Enterprise Research).
Brene Brown has said, “What we know matters, but who we are matters more.” In a similar way, it can be suggested that “what our faculty members know matters, but who our faculty are matters more.” I am grateful to all our faculty recruitment committees for their hard work and forward-focused approach to hiring. I commend their success in recruiting an amazing group of new teacher-scholars into our already wonderful 鶹ý community. I am proud of who we are and excited to continue our cluster hiring process, which will ensure that we have much to celebrate in 2030!
Regards,
Brian K. Payne, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice