Tamara Sumner

Tamara Sumner currently serves as the interim dean of University Libraries, succeeding Robert H. McDonald, who recently accepted a leadership position at the University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to her current position, she held the position of director of the Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) and is a professor in computer and cognitive science. She’ll return to her leadership position at ICS when a permanent dean of Libraries is appointed.

Sumner leads an interdisciplinary research and development lab that studies how computational tools—combining cognitive science, machine intelligence and interactive media—can improve teaching practice, learning outcomes and learner engagement in STEM fields. She has extensive research publications in human-computer interaction, educational technology, digital libraries and intelligent systems. Her teaching focuses on cognitive science research methods and user-centered design.

Sumner holds both a bachelor of science in earth science and a bachelor of arts degree in computer and information science from the University of California Santa Cruz, and a master’s and a doctorate in computer science from CU Boulder.