Denice Denton, One Year Later

One year ago last Saturday electrical engineer and chancellor of UC Santa Cruz Denice Denton committed suicide. Denton's friends and colleagues created a tribute web site where people can share stories about her life and legacy. As the site says:

Denice Denton had a bold, far-reaching vision for engineering education. Access, equity and excellence were the cornerstones of her work. She worked tirelessly for an engineering educational system that is truly accessible to everyone, that nurtures students' dreams, that enables students to fulfill those dreams upon graduation, and that encourages them to make substantial contributions to our global society. She sought to increase the number and diversity of voices working together to improve engineering education and the role of engineering in society. She promoted excellence in all aspects of engineering education -- from the actual content of the courses, to the way they were taught, to admissions policies, to research on learning, to essential support systems for students, faculty and staff.

At the time of her death, she had been embroiled in controversy over University of California management compensation. A few weeks ago, San Francisco magazine took a more detailed look at the factors that may have lead to her death, including her lack of administrative experience, the compensation scandal, homophobia, and depression.

SciBloggers have posted their own recollections

• Zuska @ Thus Spake Zuska "Thinking of Denice, One Year Later"
• Janet Stemwedel @ Adventures in Ethics and Science "The death of an administrator"

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