Fred Schneider Receives Service to CRA Award

The Computing Research Association (CRA) is pleased to honor Fred Schneider, the Samuel B. Eckert Professor and Chair of Computer Science at Cornell University, with a Service to CRA Award for his work with the organization. Fred was a member of the CRA Board from 2007 to 2016, during which time he thought deeply about how to have positive impact on the computing research community and spearheaded several key initiatives.

As chair of the Government Affairs Committee (2009-2016), Fred helped drive CRA’s policy agenda and developed the Leadership in Science Policy Institute, intended to educate computing researchers on how science policy in the U.S. is formulated and how our government works. The event has been held biennially since 2011, with more than 115 total participants, many of whom have gone on to advocate for the field, testify before Congress, or take on positions in Washington that help steer Federal policy for computing.

As chair of the Committee on Best Practices for Hiring, Promotion, and Scholarship, Fred led the committee over a period of 18 months in conducting interviews with more than 75 academic and industry computing and information unit heads to understand the issues and gain insights from practice. Preliminary recommendations were vetted with department chairs and CRA Deans at the CRA Conference at Snowbird in July 2014, and were published in a CRA Best Practices memo entitled, Incentivizing Quality and Impact: Evaluating Scholarship in Hiring, Tenure, and Promotion.

Fred played a central role in the development and success of the Computing Community Consortium, beginning with the 2010 site visit and follow on 2012 proposal for continued funding. He provided oversight of the Visioning Program process and was always a strong voice in shaping important research initiatives.

But Fred’s importance extends beyond his knowledge, intelligence, and dedication. Fred speaks his mind, regardless of whatever direction the tide may be flowing, and there is always sense in what he says. Time and again, a thoughtful interjection by Fred has caused us to reconsider and change direction, to the enormous benefit of CRA and the field.

The award will be presented at the upcoming 2016 CRA Conference at Snowbird.