Walia named School of Computer and Cyber Sciences associate dean of academic affairs

Dr. Gursimran Walia has been named associate dean of academic affairs in the Augusta University School of Computer and Cyber Sciences. Walia joined the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences in January 2022.

“Dr. Walia brings substantial expertise in curriculum development, accreditation, instructional effectiveness, student recruitment, and industrial and public outreach,” said Alex Schwarzmann, the dean of the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences. “Dr. Walia is also an active researcher and successful mentor of graduate students. I look forward to working with him as we increase our enrollment and introduce new academic programs.”

In his position as associate dean, Walia will be responsible for providing leadership in strengthening the school’s academic programs and multidisciplinary programs, in alignment with the school’s mission. Walia will advocate for all issues of undergraduate, graduate and multidisciplinary programs; support accreditation and program evaluation; and work on strategic planning associated with the students and academic programs.

Additionally, Walia will be focused on the school’s mission of providing a rich intellectual, academic environment for educating students to become leaders in the discovery and dissemination of knowledge and in its application.

“I find energy in creating environments where students can thrive, find resources for themselves, and create opportunities that allow their interaction in a global community,” said Walia. “I am very excited and invigorated by the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences’ goal of strategic growth. From my experiences, I’ve learned that I find energy in supporting, motivating and investing in others.”

Prior to joining Augusta University, Walia was a professor of computer science in the Paulson College of Computing and Engineering at Georgia Southern University, and he also served as chair of the Department of Computer Science. His previous academic appointment was on the computer science faculty at North Dakota State University, where he was also the graduate coordinator of software engineering. His research interests include empirical software engineering, human and software errors, and software quality improvement.

Walia obtained his PhD in computer science in 2009 from Mississippi State University. He is an accomplished researcher, working in several areas of computer science and software engineering. He is the author of more than 80 technical articles and his works are cited more than 1,400 times.

Walia mentored and graduated seven PhD students and more than 20 master’s students. His work has been and is supported by a number of research and educational grants totaling several million dollars, including multiple grants from the National Science Foundation.