Informatics dean named interim VP for research

IU President Michael  McRobbie announced Thursday that School of Informatics and Computing Dean Robert Schnabel will serve as interim vice president for research while a search continues to permanently fill the position.

Schnabel has served as dean of the informatics school since July 1, 2007, and he will continue in that role while also assuming the vice president responsibilities of pursuing and broadening new opportunities for research activities at IU’s eight campuses.

The IU board of trustees approved the interim appointment during a special meeting at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, according to an IU press release.

McRobbie said he asked Schnabel to temporarily assume the additional duties because the national search for a permanent appointment was continuing and some issues needed to be addressed immediately.

McRobbie said in addition to his national reputation as an academic leader and scientist, Schnabel brings a record for recognizing the importance of developing networks to enhance educational and economic opportunities, according to a press release.

“I am very pleased that Dean Schnabel has agreed to take on these additional responsibilities at a time when the importance of promoting and facilitating productive research has never been greater,” McRobbie said in a statement.

“Since his appointment as dean, he has rapidly mastered the complexities of cross-campus collaboration on research projects, which is vital to our long-term strategy of optimizing our resources to become more competitive for major research grants,” McRobbie said.

Schnabel will be responsible for an office charged with developing and advancing new research opportunities at state, national and international scales, in addition to overseeing compliance with research rules and regulations, preparing and tracking grant proposals and negotiating awards and contracts with private industries and government agencies.

In the 2007 to 2008 fiscal year, IU received a record $525.3 million in grants and awards, more than half of that from federal sources, according to a press release.
Schnabel came to IU in 2007 from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he served as vice provost/associate vice chancellor for academic and campus technology and professor of computer science.

He is a co-founder and member of the executive team of the National Center for Women and Information Technology and is active in a number of committees and alliances involving minority-serving institutions, according to a press release.

Schnabel earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in computer science from Cornell University and his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College.

“I am both humbled and excited that President McRobbie has asked me to advance the research mission of an institution with such an outstanding record of productivity and academic accomplishment,” Schnabel said in a statement. “I look forward to doing everything possible to foster the successful work of Indiana University scientists and to see that those efforts result in benefits, both economic and social, to the people of Indiana.”