James Flanagan's Retirement

June 3, 2004

Members of the Rutgers Faculty and Staff:

James Flanagan, Vice President for Research, Director of the Center for Advanced Information Processing (CAIP), and Board of Governors Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, has informed me that he plans to retire this fall; his last day in the office is expected to be September 30. We owe Jim a great debt of gratitude for his service to Rutgers and his dedication to strengthen our standing among research universities nationwide.

Jim has been a tremendous asset since he joined Rutgers in 1990 after a 30-year career in research and research management at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He came here to direct CAIP and to conduct research and teaching in computing and communications. In 1993 Jim added Vice President for Research to his responsibilities, and he has served in all three capacities for the past 11 years.

During Jim’s tenure, Rutgers faculty members have doubled the university’s external grant research from $130 million per year to approximately $260 million in the current year. At the same time, the multidisciplinary CAIP Center has brought into Rutgers more than $50 million in contract research and has produced graduate theses and research employment for over 200 students.

Jim’s many honors over a distinguished career include the National Medal of Science, the IEEE Edison Medal, and election to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been awarded Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Paris–Sud and from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. We have been enriched by his leadership and inspired by his accomplishments.

As Jim completes his work at Rutgers, please know that we are forming a committee to select an individual to serve as CAIP Director. A search for the Vice President for Research has commenced. We hope to fill these important positions as soon as possible following Jim’s retirement.

I know you join me in thanking Jim Flanagan for his exceptional success at Rutgers and in wishing him our very best as he prepares for retirement.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey