Albert Hosmer Bowker

Instrumental in the formation of the Stanford University Computer Science department, Bowker was an American educator who shaped academic computing at a pivotal moment. Born in Winchendon, Mass., he grew up in Washington, D.C. - the son of a scientist who worked for the federal Bureau of Government Standards. He attended MIT, where he majored in Mathematics. He earned his Ph.D. in Statistics from Columbia University, and joined the Stanford University faculty in 1947. He ran Stanford's department of statistics and, as assistant to Stanford's provost, worked on special assignments including development of interdepartmental programs such as scientific computation and data processing. In 1958, he was named dean of Stanford's graduate division. He headed the development of Stanford's overseas centers in Japan and Taiwan. And, recognizing the future of computers, he played a key role in the decision to develop Stanford's Division of Computer Science in 1963 - one of the largest academic installations of its kind in the West. He served as Chancellor of the City University of New York from 1963 to 1971 and as Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley from 1971 to 1980, after which he served as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Post-Secondary Education in the Carter administration. After 1 year, he went to the University of Maryland to serve as Dean of the School of Public Affairs.