Moll's service commended

At the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics (NSM) fall convocation ceremony, CS Associate Professor Robert Moll received the NSM Outstanding Service Award for his devotion to service and teaching activities that have advanced the education of generations of computer scientists at UMass Amherst.

Moll served as the Department’s Undergraduate Program Director (UPD) from the late 1980s until 2001, when he became Associate Chair for Academic Programs.  During his tenure as UPD, the number of CS majors more than doubled.  He initiated and implemented policies and practices that allowed the faculty to accommodate this explosion of majors effectively and that not only maintained, but also improved the nurturing and supportive environment that the Department strives to provide for its undergraduates.
 
One notable initiative that Moll established is the Bay State Fellowship program.  Under this innovative program, which is funded entirely within the Computer Science Department, any undergraduate who completes a UMass Amherst computer science major with a sufficient overall GPA is automatically granted admission to the Department’s Master’s program.  This admission includes modest guaranteed financial support, plus a tuition waiver. Moll also initiated a vigorous program to help older students “retread” themselves as computer scientists with the establishment of a second Bachelor’s degree program.

In over 30 years of service to the Department, Moll took the lead in enhancing the Department’s undergraduate program through course and curricular development. His enhancements include modernizing introductory courses in response to paradigm shifts in programming languages, developing the programming methodology course (CMPSCI 287), and instituting a new two-tiered advising system. He is also a significant contributor to the minor program in Information Technology (IT).

In addition to his contributions to the Department’s undergraduate program, Moll serves as the official face of the Department to prospective students and their families. He not only meets with prospective new students, but he also has one-on-one meetings with every graduating senior.  These exit interviews give faculty valuable feedback on the undergraduate program, leading to a number of changes in the CS major. 

“I have seen many students return as alumni and comment that Robbie was the faculty member who had the most impact on them,” says Department Chair Bruce Croft. “He is very deserving of this award.”