CSC News

Three New Members Named to Strategic Advisory Board

The Computer Science Department is pleased to welcome three new members to the department’s Strategic Advisory Board (SAB):

• Claris Castillo-Singh* - Founder, CEO & CTO of Humegy Corporation (bio)
• Philippe Poignant - CTO of LexisNexis (bio)
• Morgan Sullivan – AVP & Cybersecurity Program Senior Strategist at Truist (bio)

*NC State Alumni

The Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) is a distinguished group of leaders who collectively play a critical role in shaping the department’s vision and strategic focus. The group provides real-world insight, direction and guidance, and as such is central to the department’s strategic planning process. The role of the SAB is frequently cited as a significant departmental strength during accreditation reviews.

Launched more than two decades ago as the Industrial Advisory Council (IAC) by former department head, Dr. Alan Tharp, the board has evolved over the years to include term limits and an expansion of focus beyond industry representation. In the early 2000’s, the IAC was renamed the “Strategic Advisory Board” (SAB), reflecting a desire to expand representation to include industry, government and academic leaders.

Over the last two decades, the SAB has been instrumental in helping the department formulate strategies and plans to launch new academic tracks and concentrations, inject essential soft skills into the curriculum (leadership, communication and collaborative skills), and develop communication and marketing strategies to help shape external perspectives. The SAB has also proactively supported the department’s diversity initiatives, with individual members collectively launching the Diversity in Computer Science Endowment, which gives a substantial scholarship each year to one or more underrepresented students studying computer science at NC State. The endowment carries a current value of over $165,000 with a goal of growing to over $250,000. Interested donors can join the SAB in supporting this initiative here.

The SAB meets annually on campus and acts as a virtual working team through member involvement on subcommittees, executive panels, search committees and other engagement opportunities. Each term with the SAB group is three years in length and membership may be renewed for a second term.

Dr. Gregg Rothermel, Professor and Department Head for the NC State Department of Computer Science expressed his gratitude to the new members. "With the support of the state’s ‘Engineering North Carolina’s Future’ initiative, we have grown substantially over the past few years. At the same time, the implications of AI are permeating all aspects of how we live, work and play, and our curriculum must evolve accordingly. We find ourselves facing strategic decisions that will impact the department for decades to come,” said Rothermel. “We depend greatly on our SAB to provide us guidance and direction that will help us align our strategic plans with real-world needs, and ensure that we can continue to play a significant role in providing the talent and research that fuels the economy of North Carolina and beyond.”

The SAB is currently chaired by Lance Berberian, EVP & Chief Information and Technology Officer at Labcorp.

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