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May
12, 2004
Trinity
Computer Science Chairman Is Named Piper Professor
SAN
ANTONIO - Gerald
N. Pitts, Caruth Distinguished Professor and chairman of the computer
science department at Trinity University, has been named a Piper Professor
for 2004. The announcement was made in early May by the Minnie Stevens
Piper Foundation, a San Antonio-based organization that supports
charitable, scientific, and educational activities and annually recognizes
15 professors who exemplify superior teaching at a Texas college or
university.
Professor
Pitts, who has taught at Trinity since 1981, has received more than $2.3
million in research grants and awards from government and industry since
1971. He has written or contributed to five books about computer science
or programming and has published or presented 130 papers about his
research since 1967.
At
Trinity, he was awarded the Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship in 2000 for
excellence in teaching and advising, and he is a member of American Men
and Women in Science, Who's Who in Texas, Who's Who Worldwide,
American Publishing Who's Who, Who's Who in Computer Education and
Research, and the Texas Academy of Science, among other professional
organizations.
He
has been active in numerous Trinity and professional committees, and is
involved in many community activities. For example, he was a city
councilman in the San Antonio suburb of Hollywood Park from 1998 to 2000.
A
native of Brownwood, Texas, he earned a doctorate in computer science from
Texas A&M University, where he also earned two master's degrees and
a Bachelor of Arts degree. Before coming to Trinity, he taught at the
University of Southwestern Louisiana, Florida Institute of Technology,
Central Texas College, Texas Tech University, and Mississippi State
University. He also was a systems analyst for NASA.
Michael
Fischer, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the Trinity
faculty, notified University professors of Pitts' award during a meeting of the Faculty Senate. "This
professor's dedication to the profession of teaching is unusual for its
reach beyond the classroom and its continuation after a student's
graduation," Vice President Fischer said. "Students speak of his
remarkable and challenging teaching in the classroom but also praise the
opportunities that he has created for them to be involved in sophisticated
research in his field."
Professor
Pitts is the 13th Trinity faculty member to be named a Piper
Professor. A $5,000 honorarium is included with the prize.
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© 2006 Trinity University