In Memory of Dr. Mike Evangelist, SCIS Director 1992-1998
It is our misfortune to inform you all that the Third Director of the School, Dr. Michael Evangelist, passed away on January 11, 2012, after a brief illness.
Mike served as the Director of the School of Computer Science from August 1992 to August 1998. He was a visionary leader and always believed in high achievements. A master in the art of writing grant applications, he was phenomenally successful in his grantsmanship activities throughout his career. His experienced leadership was instrumental in our receiving the first Million Dollar grant in 1994. During his tenure, the School increased its annual Research Funding from approximately $200K in 1991-92 to $2.5M in 1997-98, and its undergraduate Computer Science program received its initial ABET accreditation. Two research centers, the High-Performance Database Research Center and the Center for Advanced Distributed Systems Engineering, were established during his time.
Mike was well-known throughout the CS community and served as a member of the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors and in 1993 was the Treasurer of the IEEE Computer Society. He was a charter recipient of the IEEE Golden Core Award in 1996. After he left FIU, he served as NSF Director, Division of Computer-Communications Research, CISE, and eventually served as Director of Research for Carnegie Mellon University’s West Coast campus.
Mike was a person of extraordinary intelligence, very giving, and generous. He helped us in various ways; guiding and advising many to “think big” and aim high; encouraging and assisting some in advancing their careers; and teaching many of us the finer points of life that we remember and follow on a daily basis.
Personalities like Mike’s are very rare indeed. He will be sorely missed.