Deborah Crawford

Deborah Crawford is the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Tennessee and leads the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development. She joined the university in August 2020 and is a member of the chancellor’s cabinet. She is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the full range of the university’s research, innovation, and economic development programs, and raising the university’s national and international reputation.

Prior to her joining UT, Crawford served as vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact at George Mason University. She spent two years as the president and executive director of the International Computer Science Institute and four years as the senior vice provost for research at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She worked at the National Science Foundation for 17 years, where she held a number of executive leadership positions.

She has a PhD in Information Systems Engineering from the University of Bradford and a BS (Honors) in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from the University of Glasgow, both in the UK.

 

Work Experience

  • Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Tennessee
  • Vice President for research, innovation, and economic impact at George Mason University
  • Director, ICSI
  • Senior Vice Provost for Research, Drexel University
  • Deputy Assistant Director, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, NSF
  • Manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Research Engineer, UC Santa Barbara
  • Research Engineer, AT&T Bell Labs
  • Research Engineer, GEC Hirst Research Lab

Education

  • PhD, Information Systems Engineering, University of Bradford
  • BSc Eng (Honors), Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow

Awards, Honors, and Significant Achievements

  • Member, Board of Directors, University City Science Center
  • Member, Council of the Computing Community Consortium
  • Member, Subcommittee on Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
  • Presidential Rank Award, Distinguished Service, 2010
  • Presidential Rank Award, Meritorious Service, 2006