Vicki Allan Receives USU's 2022 Faculty University Service Award

As a student at Utah State University’s on-campus Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Vicki Allan remembers waiting in the faculty office of her father, Rex LeRoy Hurst, as he finished his duties of the day. Allan would follow in his footsteps as a computer science professor.

“I’m a lifelong Aggie,” says Allan, associate professor in USU’s Department of Computer Science. “The values of USU’s land-grant mission, including providing learning opportunities for all, and serving the public through discovery and engagement, were instilled in me from an early age.”

Allan has expressed her dedication to Utah State in many ways, and for her efforts and generosity, she received the university’s 2022 Faculty University Service Award.

The Aggie scholar pursued undergraduate studies at Utah State, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, computer science and statistics in 1973. A master’s degree in math from USU followed, and about a decade later, she completed an additional master’s degree in computer science, as well as a doctorate in computer science, from Colorado State University.

Since joining USU’s faculty in 1986, Allan has been active in teaching, research, advising and serving on dozens of committees to promote student, faculty and staff welfare. Her service includes serving as faculty senate president, as well as serving as chair of the Women and Gender Institute, a forerunner to USU’s Center for Women and Gender. Among her most notable efforts are initiatives to support, encourage, mentor and inspire young women and other underrepresented groups in computer science. Allan is a longtime faculty adviser for USU’s student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery Women, which provides leadership development, outreach and professional networking opportunities for university students.

Among Allan’s most successful community and collaborative ventures is the establishment of the NSF-supported “App Camp,” a summer program to encourage middle school youths and their high school-aged mentors to pursue degrees in computer science. Since its inception, the annual gathering has welcomed more than 550 participants.

Enlisting collaborators from across campus, Allan has created an engaging learning atmosphere that introduces youngsters to coding and other computer science endeavors while reducing gender stereotypes. The innovative camp also provides high schoolers with paid mentoring experience to grow their self-confidence and boost their leadership and technical skills.

Allan has served as chair of the Northern Utah affiliate of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, since its 2012 inception. With the help of industry professionals and academics from colleges and universities throughout Utah, the group’s Aspirations in Computing program honors high-school-aged women in technology.

At Utah State, Allan has established three scholarship endowments in the Department of Computer Science to support students.

Her expertise and skills encompass “big picture” thinking in promoting Utah State’s land-grant mission.

For more information on the University Faculty Service Award, visit www.usu.edu/provost/university-honors/university-service-award/.