Simmons University Dean Receives Outstanding AI Educator Award

Boston, Mass. (February 13, 2020) – Simmons University proudly announced today that Dr. Marie desJardins, Dean of the College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences, has received the 2020 AAAI/EAAI Outstanding Educator Award.

The award was established to recognize individuals who have made major contributions to artificial intelligence (AI) education that provide long-lasting benefits to the AI community. Dr. desJardins received the 2020 award in recognition of her work leading the AI community in cultivating and recognizing advances in AI education, sharing pedagogical advances, increasing diversity, and improving K-12 computer science teacher preparation.

The award, jointly sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), was presented during the recent 2020 AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence in New York City.

Dr. desJardins is a computer scientist and one of the nation’s leading AI experts. She’s well known for her research in this field, her work in expanding access to K-12 computer science education, and her leadership as a mentor, teacher, and champion for diversity in computing.

During the recent Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI) Symposium, Dr. desJardins also gave a keynote lecture entitled “#AIForAll: a 64-year perspective on AI, computing, inclusion and diversity.” Dr. desJardins reflected on the past 64 years of advances in the field of AI, and discussed trends in education, diversity, and inclusion in AI and computing. She also highlighted a series of recommendations for the field, including an increased emphasis on ethical computing, best practices for inclusive classroom and work environments, and how to be an effective ally for underrepresented groups.

To date, Dr. desJardins has published over 100 scientific papers in journals, conferences, and workshops. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in engineering and computer science, and earned her PhD in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently resides in Brookline, Massachusetts.

About Simmons University

Located in the heart of Boston, Simmons is a respected private university offering more than 50 majors and programs for undergraduate women and graduate programs open to all on campus, in blended formats, or entirely online in nursing and health sciences, liberal arts, business, communications, social work, public health, and library and information science. Founded in 1899, Simmons has established a model of higher education that other colleges and universities are only recently beginning to adapt: the combination of education for leadership in high-demand professional fields with the intellectual foundation of the liberal arts. The result is a Simmons graduate prepared not only to work, but to lead in professional, civic, and personal life — a vision of empowerment that Simmons calls preparation for life’s work. Follow Simmons on Twitter at @SimmonsUniv, and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/school/simmons-university/.