Dr. Jose-Marie Griffiths

Biography

José-Marie Griffiths completed her undergraduate degree in physics with honors from the University College London in London, England in 1973. She earned a Ph.D. in information science from University College London in 1977. She is currently Dean and Professor of the School of Information and Library Science and the Director of Biomedical Informatics, TraCS Institute, School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Griffiths has a research and leadership career that spans over 30 years. She has held two previous presidential appointments, one to the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee from 2003 to 2005, appointed by President George Bush; and the other to the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science from 1996 to 2002, appointed by President William Clinton. Griffiths has testified before Congress and has served on blue-ribbon panels and committees for agencies including the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Navy.

Her research spans information science, technology and leadership. She has done groundbreaking work on the value and return on investment in information systems and services; researched the development of protocols and policies for resource sharing across organizations on local, state and regional levels, including both public and private institutions; reported on the influences of the digital revolution on the conduct of research; and studied success criteria and best practices for information technology in higher education.

Before joining the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004, Griffiths was the Doreen E. Boyce chair and professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She also directed the university's Sara Fine Institute for Interpersonal Behavior and Technology and was an associate of the Learning Research and Development Center.

At the University of Michigan (1996-2001), Griffiths was University Chief Information Officer, with strategic and operational responsibility for the University's information technology activities totaling over $200 million in annual expenditures; Executive Director of the Information Technology Division; Founding Director of the Collaboratory for Advanced Research and Academic Technologies (CARAT); and Professor in the School of Information. She was instrumental in the development of the Ann Arbor IT Zone, a community organization to encourage the recruitment and retention of hi-tech companies and talent to the southeastern Michigan region, and was Founding chair of its Board.

Previously, at the University of Tennessee (1989-1996), Griffiths was a professor, director of the School of Information Sciences and vice chancellor for Computing and Telecommunications/Information Infrastructure. She also was an Oak Ridge National Laboratories collaborating scientist.

Griffiths' accomplishments have been recognized by several prestigious appointments and awards. She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her "meritorious efforts to advance science." She received an Award of Merit from the American Society for Information Science and Technology - the society's highest honor - and a society Research Award. She was also named one of the Top 25 Women on the Web in 1999 by San Francisco Women on the Web.

She was appointed to the National Science Board in 2006.

August 2006