Ephremides Establishes Chair Professorship

Prof. Anthony Ephremides (Photo by Ted Knight)

Anthony Ephremides, Cynthia Kim Professor in Information Technology, and his wife, Jane, have pledged $1.5 million to the Clark School for the creation of the Anthony Ephremides Chair in Information Sciences and Systems.

The chair professorship will provide annual support for a faculty member in the field of information sciences and systems in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Ephremides has a joint appointment with that department and with the Institute for Systems Research.

Ephremides has been with the University of Maryland since 1971. He says the chair professorship is his way of giving back to the university where he has spent his academic career.

Clark School Interim Dean Herbert Rabin hopes Ephremides' gift will inspire others to give.

"When one of our own distinguished faculty members chooses to make a leadership gift to endow a faculty chair, it should be a clear signal to all that private support is the key to the future for the Clark School," Rabin said.

Patrick O'Shea, chair of ECE, said the gift raises the prestige of the department and will help with faculty recruiting.

"We are delighted and honored that Prof. Ephremides has chosen to bestow such a generous gift on the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering," O'Shea said. "He is an outstanding educator, scholar, researcher, and colleague."

Published September 26, 2007