Defense Department Director Anita K. Jones To Speak At Rice Commencement

CONTACT: Michael Cinelli
PHONE: (713) 831-4794

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR ANITA K. JONES

TO SPEAK AT RICE COMMENCEMENT

Anita K. Jones, director of defense
research and engineering in the U.S. Department of Defense, will
give the Commencement Address at Rice University on Saturday, May
11, 1996.

Graduation ceremonies will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the academic
quadrangle, weather permitting.

Jones, a 1964 graduate of Rice University, is responsible for
management of science and technology programs at the Defense
Department. She also has oversight responsibilities of in-house
laboratories, university research initiatives, and the department’s
Advanced Research Projects Agency.

“It is most fitting that a Rice graduate of such high standing
will be our commencement speaker,” said Rice President Malcolm
Gillis. “Dr. Jones has long been a trailblazer in academia. She is
also a much-honored public servant and seasoned business leader.”

Jones’ private sector experience includes serving as a professor
in and chair of the Department of Computer Science at the University
of Virginia; as vice president and founder of Tartan Laboratories;
as a member of the board of directors of Science Applications
International Corporation; as a trustee of the Mitre Corporation;
and as a member of the MIT Lincoln Laboratories Advisory Board.

She has published two books and more than 35 technical articles
in the area of computer software and systems.
Jones received her bachelor’s degree from Rice in English and
mathematics. She earned an M.A. from the University of Texas in
literature in 1966 and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie
Mellon University in 1973. She is a member of the National Academy
of Engineering.

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