An Interview with Computer Science Department Chair Henning Schulzrinne

CS@CU NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY VOL.5 NO.2 SPRING 2009 An Interview with Computer Science Department Chair Henning Schulzrinne Outgoing Computer Science Department Chair Henning Schulzrinne After serving as the How did you get into the Were there any surprises students, 30 other faculty, Computer Science role of department chair? on your first day of work? and many more Masters I think the way it works in There weren’t too many students, undergraduates, Department Chair for etc—all who have needs that 5 1/2 years, Professor most departments is that surprises on the first day, but some of the senior faculty eventually there were surprises need to be taken care of. Henning Schulzrinne put their heads together and in terms of things that you What I found out is that the is stepping down at the decide who can we draft, who don’t really see as a normal department chair tends to be end of his term in July. might be willing, who probably faculty member. Usually it’s the last stop, at least within won’t do too much damage, kind of a black box “paper the department, for just about T.C. Chang Professor Shree etc. For some reason some of goes in, signature comes out” everything. One of the things Nayar will be the next chair the senior faculty picked me, type of model; what you don’t that you notice very quickly is of the department. Professor so I was invited to a breakfast see is all the activities that that no issue is too small to Schulzrinne gave CS@CU at one of the local eateries go on on a daily basis. Or as make it to the email inbox of Newsletter Roving Reporter and it was sprung on me that a student, you probably think the chair—missing toilet paper, Carlos-Rene Perez some some people think that “you of the front office as a group somebody ordered the wrong candid insights about his should be next.” Serving as of people that sit there all day pencils, somebody can’t find experiences and perspectives chair was something that I and you don’t really know what their mail—you name it, sooner as Department Chair. hadn’t necessarily planned on they do—you hope they do or later you’ll get a e-mail with at that particular moment, but something useful! You might somebody stopping by. That’s I decided it was a challenge only bother them 10 minutes not a bad thing, because I was interested in, and I was during the year, but of course ultimately most organizations willing to take it on. there are 120 other Ph.D. only work if somebody takes CS@CU SPRING 2009 1 Cover Story (continued) responsibility for everything didn’t scale very well to a $10 I think the staff here, particularly with the school on some budget in the end. You want people to million dollar research, 30+ the academic staff, has done a issues. Even during a single day, feel that there is a person faculty department. So one much better job than we used to you end up constantly switching who eventually will listen and of the things that I definitely do at integrating things through between different roles. hopefully make the right things wanted to accomplish was social activities. I’ve set up a happen. Of course, as chair having better infrastructure number of social events, like the Do you have any tips for you usually don’t do it yourself, that allows the faculty and family day and the graduation your successor? you end up delegating. So staff and student volunteers ceremony that we do for Ph.D. If I were to do this again, chair management is often to run things a little bit more students, to help a little bit more I think it’s important to set what I call management by efficiently. with this; also we now have our expectations appropriately. forwarding; as chair you try to department-wide coffee hours I think I have quite a reputation decide who is best qualified What are some goals that you pretty regularly. But I think we for answering email relatively to deal with whatever idea or feel still need more work? can still do better. quickly at all hours, and people suggestion or complaint or I do believe that there are two Hopefully this department is a have started to expect that. problem you’re confronted areas where the department can community—a community that That is not an expectation with. Speaking as a networking do better. One is a byproduct of has common technical and which you necessarily want to person, you act kind of like the success: I think we have moved intellectual interests, but also a foster! So it’s a good idea to central router: you provide a well up in our external ranking and social community. Most people set clear expectations: if you known address to everybody in visibility, and so we need to spend an inordinate fraction of do not get an answer to an the department, and hopefully start “acting our age.” I don’t their week here in these build- e-mail until Monday morning, in many cases you can provide mean our biological age as a ings; many people probably you’re going to survive, and some assistance. 25+ year department, but we spend more time with their you don’t have to panic as to have now acquired a bit of colleagues here than they why you didn’t get an answer What is your proudest external reputation. We used spend with their their children to your email on Saturday. The accomplishment as chair? to be kind of a “mid-20’s” type and spouse, besides sleeping. other piece of advice is to take One thing you learn as a chair, of department, but now we So treating it simply as a place advantage of our great staff. We hopefully quickly, is that the are easily a top-20 department with a bit of concrete and are lucky now to have a very Oath of Hippocrates applies: by our impact. But once you bricks where you get a network strong office staff on all sides— First do no harm. In any reach that level, you are connection and a desk doesn’t business, financial, academic— department the really important suddenly in the same league quite cut it; I think we need to that can take on many roles. work that the University does— as departments which have a treat it as a place where people It’s a situation where if we can teaching, research, service— number of activities, in terms can connect socially as human grow the professionalism and gets done by the faculty and of outreach and interaction beings. So having people that responsibility of our staff even the Ph.D. students and to some with the community, that we volunteer here, be it for a further, I think they will step extent by the other students in haven’t quite reached. Working newsletter or be it for cookies up to the plate. This means the department and the research with alumni, working with or be it for being a big brother, many things can be done well staff. So what a department industry, working with the is very much an important part that otherwise may not get chair can do and staff can do rest of the university—more is of that. I very much try to done at all, if the chair tries is really make sure that those expected of you when you’re encourage activities along to do it all. who do this real work of the a more visible department. these lines; that’s why we How about faculty recruitment? University have the resources The second area is a long term have new awards for students Could you see the department they need so that they can challenge. The way we are set who do community service. growing by ten more faculty? do their work unencumbered up physically, we are in two— by bureaucracy, by silly walls, if you count the InterChurch How do you balance all the Every department wants to by resource limitations (to the group, three—buildings, and things that a department grow, and growth is a good extent possible). so we are very distributed. chair has to do? way to do new things and One of the issues that I It’s quite possible to graduate, Well, I’m not claiming that my do existing things better. discovered relatively early is if you were in CEPSR, having schedule is any worse than But simply relying on faculty that the department had grown never set foot into the CS any other faculty, but certainly growth is not the only way significantly since I joined in building, except maybe on the number of hats that a we can be doing things better. 1996. Back then we were graduation day. This means you department chair has to wear We’ve reached a size that probably roughly half the size may not have met many of the makes Imelda Marcos’s shoe makes us now one of the that we are now, a little larger, people whose offices are in collection seem small. You largest computer science and many of our ways of doing the CS building. So facilitating have to time-slice to an extent departments in the Ivy League, things were “small department” contact between students that I didn’t experience before.

Load more