Diana S. Sinton

 UCGIS is pleased to announce that Dr. Diana Sinton has been selected for its 2021 Service Award to recognize her outstanding service as UCGIS Executive Director from 2013 to 2021. The award recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to the growth, development and ongoing success of the organization. 

As Executive Director Dr. Sinton has worked tirelessly to advance the UCGIS mission of promoting Geographic Information Science research, education, and policy, and bringing the GIS&T higher education community together. Dr. Sinton brings a unique combination of administrative skills, leadership, and Geographic Information Science expertise that has allowed UCGIS to flourish under her directorship. From the most mundane administrative details, to complex financial and legal management, to the highest level of organizational strategic planning, Dr. Sinton has played a leading role.

Besides her diverse set of skills, one of the key reasons for Dr. Sinton’s success is simply that she cares - about the academic field, about the profession, about UCGIS as an organization, and, of course, about the students, faculty, staff, practitioners and professionals that make up the GIS&T community. It is clear that for Dr. Sinton being Executive Director is not simply a job, but a position with which she is personally invested. When Dr. Sinton is on a task, one simply knows it will get done, get done on time, and get done well, with thoughtful consideration. Her contributions in this regard go far above and beyond that of a typical Executive Director. 

Importantly, UCGIS Executive Director is not the only professional role for Dr. Sinton. She also serves as an adjunct Associate Professor at Cornell University, and is an internationally recognized expert on GIS&T education in both K-12 and university settings. Dr. Sinton’s stellar reputation as a scholar and her academic contributions to GIS&T education have raised UCGIS’s programming and professional profile to new heights in preparing the next generation of GIS&T teachers and researchers.

UCGIS thanks Dr. Sinton for her exceptional contributions as Executive Director, and looks forward to her new role with the organization as Senior Research Fellow.